1IVERS//, 


RARY0/ 


Naval  Heroes 

of 

Holland 


BY 

J.   A.  METS 


Strong  these  and  dauntless,  all  perils  defying ; 
Theirs  the  intrepid  soul,  scornful  of  flying ; 
Valorous  still  whether  living  or  dying. 


THE 


PUBLISHERS 

114  FIFTH  AVKNUX 
NEW  YORK 


'  Copyright,  igoa, 

by 
THE 

Hbbe?  press. 


vai 


\ 


TV 

CONTENTS. 

THE  BEGINNINGS   OF  A  NAVY. 

PAGE 

ZA  The  Sea,  Holland's  Friend  and  Foe— Advantage  of  Hol- 
land's Geographical  Position — Early  Great  Com- 
mercial Cities — Joining  the  Hanscatic  League — Great 
Commerce  result  of  Herring  Fishery — Conquests  and 
Colonies  in  the  East  and  West — Joins  in  Crusade  and 
taking  of  Damietta — Bells  of  Damietta  the  Carillon  of 
Haarlem— War  with  Hanseatic  League  and  Results.  7 

00 

THE  BEGGABS  OF  THE  SEA. 

A  Missing  Link  in  History— Spirit  of  Liberty  fostered  by 
the  Sea— Three  Classes  of  Gueux  or  Beggars— Pri- 
vateering Common— Story  of  Big  Peter— Character 
of  Beggars  of  the  Sea— Their  Ultimate  Aim— Nature 
of  Their  Vessels — Supineness  of  Spain — Taking  of 
Briel  and  other  Cities — Victories  on  the  Scheldt — 
Fierce  Battle  on  the  Zuyder  Zee — Victory  over 
d'Avila— Results *7 

JACOB   VAN    HEEMSKERK. 

Birth  and  Training— Expeditions  in  Search  of  Northeast 
Passage  to  India— Wintering  on  Nova  Zembla— Vic- 
torious Battle  in  the  East  Indies— Heroism  of  Reinier 
Claessens— Unselfish  Patriotism— Expedition  to  Gi- 
braltar—Destruction of  Spanish  Fleet— Wonderful 
Preservation  of  Captives— Death  of  Heemskerk— 
Finding  of  Cruel  Edict  of  Philip  I.— Influence  of  the 
Victory  ...  c  3 

PIET    HEIN. 

Statue  at  Delftshaven — Birthplace — Captured  by  Pirates 
in  Boyhood — Formation  and  Composition  of  West 
India  Company — Expedition  to  Brazil — Romantic 
Story  of  Founding  of  Bahia— Description  of  the  City 
and  Its  Location — Attack  on  and  taking  of  Bahia — 
Recapture  by  Spaniards— Return  of  Piet  Hein  to 
Bahia — Daring  Exploits  in  Capture  of  Spanish  Ships 


CONTENTS. 

— Capture  of  Silver  Fleet— Reception  by  the  Nation 
and  by  Sister— Results  of  taking  of  Silver  Fleet- 
Made  Lieutenant-Admiral  of  Holland — Battle  with 
Dunkirk  Pirates— Death 84 

MARTIN   HARPERTSSON    TROMP. 

Description  of  the  Home  of  Tromp — Boy-sailor  Captured 
by  Pirates — Testimony  of  Piet  Hein — Dunkirk  and 
Its  Privateers — Fierce  Battles  with  These — Victory 
over  Van  Doom — Armada,  of  d'Oquendo — Tromp's 
Daring  Attack — English  Interference — Total  Defeat 
of  d'Oquendo — Result,  Widespread  Fame  of  Tromp — 
Jealousy  of  England — Improvement  in  Naval 
Tactics — Peace  of  Munster — End  of  Eighty  Years' 
Struggle — Causes  of  War  with  England — Victory  over 
Blake— Fleet  Shattered  by  Storm — Relieved  of  Com- 
mand—Reinstated— Total  Defeat  of  Blake— Three 
Day's  Fight  off  Portland — Heroism  of  Various  Cap- 
tains— Comparison  of  Forces — Fierce  Battle  with 
Monk  and  Blake — Death  of  Tromp  .  .  .  124 

MICHAEL    ADRIANSON    DE    RUYTER. 

Climbing  Flushing  Steeple— Origin  of  His  Name— Boy- 
hood—Becomes  a  Sailor— Battles  with  Pirates  as 
Merchant  Captain— First  Command  in  the  Navy— Re- 
turns to  Merchant  Service — Victory  over  Spaniards 
and  Barbary  Pirates— First  Command  in  War  with 
England— Heroism  of  Frisian  Captain— Made  Vice- 
Admiral— Sent  to  Assist  Denmark  against  Sweden 
and  Poland — Bombardment  and  Taking  of  Nyborg — 
Expedition  to  West  Indies  and  Africa — De  Ruyter 
and  the  Negro  King — Made  Lieutenant-Admiral — 
Four  Days'  Battle  near  the  North  Foreland — An 
Artist's  Heroism — Great  Victory  and  Day  of  Thanks- 
giving— Daring  Expedition  up  the  Thames — Victory 
over  'Combined  English  and  French  Fleets— Victories 
over  the  Same  off  the  Coast  of  Holland— Hailed  as 
Preserver  of  the  Fatherland— Last  Battle  and  Death- 
Character  and  Characteristics— English  Testimony  to 
De  Ruyter's  Greatness.  ...  .  190 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PACE 

Naval  Battle  between  Tromp  and  Blake  off  Dover,  Eng- 
land (see  p.  162) Frontispiece. 

Jacob  Van  Heemskerk,  Admiral 52 

Pieter  Pieterszoon  Hein,  Lieutenant- Admiral  of  Holland.      84 
Maarten    Harpertszoon  Tromp,    Lieutenant-Admiral  of 

Holland  and  West  Friesland 124 

Michiel  De  Ruyter,  Lieutenant-Admiral-General  of  Hol- 
land and  West  Friesland 190 

Steeple  of  St.  James'  Church  at  Flushing 193 

Attack  on  Chatham 226 

Statue  of  De  Ruyter  on  the  Sea-Boulevard  at  Flushing. . .    242 


PREFACE. 

THE  little  work  herewith  offered  to  the  youth  of  our 
land  deals,  in  part,  with  the  struggle  of  a  republic  of 
the  past  against  the  nation  with  which  so  recently  our 
own  great  republic  was  at  war.  Indeed,  much  of  what 
is  here  told  was  the  beginning  of  that  work  which  the 
United  States  was  called  upon  in  the  providence  of 
God,  as  the  author  cannot  but  believe,  to  finish,  namely, 
the  utter  overthrow  of  Spain  as  a  world-power.  Some 
names  will  occur  here  that  have  become  familiar  dur- 
ing our  recent  war  and  which  may  serve  to  awaken 
the  greater  interest  in  the  perusal  of  these  pages. 

The  deeds  here  recorded  are  those  of  only  a  few  of 
the  naval  heroes  of  Holland,  those  whom  the  author 
considers  most  conspicuous  in  the  glorious  galaxy. 
There  are  many  who  might  also  deserve  to  have  their 
deeds  specially  recorded — De  Witt,  Van  Galen,  Van 
Ness,  Ita,  the  Evertsens,  Cornelius  Tromp,  and  a  num- 
ber of  others  whose  heroic  deeds  aided  in  making  the 
fame  of  Holland's  navy  world  wide.  But  to  have 
done  this  would  have  made  not  only  one,  but  many 
bulky  volumes,  while  in  the  accounts  given  of  the  most 
prominent  of  these  intrepid  warriors  on  the  deep  many 
of  their  heroic  brothers  in  arms  have  necessarily 
received  a  place. 

If  by  the  reading  of  the  devoted  patriotism  and 
heroic  courage  of  the  brave  men  whose  deeds  are  here 
narrated,  a  similar  love  of  country,  dauntless  fearless- 
ness in  the  midst  of  peril  and  unwavering  courage  in 


PREFACE. 

the  face  of  any  odds,  together  with  the  same  trust  in 
and  reliance  upon  the  God  of  right,  justice  and  truth, 
can  be  inspired  in  the  hearts  of  the  young  who  shall 
read  this  little  book,  the  author's  aim  will  have  been 
fully  met,  while  he  will  esteem  such  a  result  a  rich 
reward  for  the  labor  expended. 

SOMERVILLE,  N.  J., 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  A  NAVY. 

THE  SEA,  HOLLAND'S  FRIEND  AND  FOE — ADVANTAGE  OF 
HOLLAND'S  GEOGRAPHICAL  POSITION — EARLY  GREAT  COM- 
MERCIAL CITIES JOINING  THE  HANSEATIC  LEAGUE 

GREAT    COMMERCE    RESULT  OF    HERRING    FISHERY CON- 
QUESTS AND  COLONIES  IN  THE  EAST  AND  WEST JOINS  IN 

CRUSADE  AND  TAKING  OF  DAMIETTA BELLS  OF  DAMIETTA 

THE    CARILLON     OF    HAARLEM WAR    WITH    HANSEATIC 

LEAGUE  AND  RESULTS. 

A  country  with  an  extensive  coast-line  must,  in  the 
course  of  civilization,  sooner  or  later  become  a  mari- 
time power.  But  when  this  coast  line  not  only  affords 
a  wide  field  for  enterprise,  but  also  demands  constant 
energetic  action  and  unintermitted  vigilance  and  strug- 
gle against  the  manifold  perils  and  encroachments  of 
the  sea,  the  inevitable  issue  must  be  the  development 
of  the  people  of  such  a  country  into  a  hardy  and  daring 
maritime  nation.  And  as  this  was  preeminently  the 
case  with  Holland,  it  is  in  this  fact  that  its  history  lies 
as  in  a  nutshell. 

The  soil  of  Holland  originally  consisted  for  the  most 
part  of  bog  and  marsh  or  of  low-lying  meadows,  a  con- 
stant prey  to  the  violence  of  the  waves.  From  the 
earliest  times  to  the  present  day,  the  hold  of  its  people 
upon  the  soil  has  depended  upon  their  courage  and  per- 
sistence in  facing  and  opposing  the  ever-threatening 
dangers  from  the  sea,  their  energy  in  recuperating  from 
its  disasters  when  they  had  come,  or  their  mechanical 


8  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

ingenuity  and  engineering  skill  in  preventing  them. 
These  conditions  early  formed  the  inhabitants  of  this 
insignificant  country  into  a  most  hardy  and  intrepid 
people. 

But  the  sea  was  not  only  a  force  to  be  combated 
by  the  Netherlanders ;  it  was  no  less  the  field  to  which 
mainly  they  had  to  look  for  their  subsistence.  The  soil 
could  not  produce  sufficient  to  supply  the  wants  of  the 
inhabitants,  so  that  the  eye  was  necessarily  directed 
to  the  sea,  in  the  midst  of  which,  as  it  were,  they  were 
dwelling,  and  with  which  they  had  become  familiar  by 
the  unbroken  struggle.  The  strength  of  its  waves  they 
had  measured ;  the  force  of  its  tempests  they  had  again 
and  again  defied.  If  the  land  did  not  produce  a  suf- 
ficiency for  daily  sustenance,  the  sea,  that  grim  and  an- 
cient foe,  would  be  laid  under  contribution.  And,  teem- 
ing as  it  did  with  inexhaustible  treasures  of  the  most 
delicious  food,  the  supplies  derived  from  this  source  far 
exceeded  those  derived  from  the  soil.  Thus  one  of  the 
first  and  at  one  time  the  greatest  of  Dutch  industries 
was  born,  the  fisheries  on  the  tempestuous  and  perilous 
North  Sea.  Commerce  soon  followed.  This  was  at 
first  confined  to  the  coast  lands ;  but  rapidly  extended 
farther  and  farther  till  it  girdled  the  globe,  and  the  red, 
white  and  blue  of  the  Dutch  flag  waved  in  every 
breeze  and  was  known  wherever  vessels  could  float. 

It  was  not  merely  the  situation  of  the  Netherlands 
by  the  sea,  however,  that  led  to  the  important  rank 
which  it  so  early  reached  in  maritime  commerce.  Its 
geographical  position  among  the  countries  of  Europe 
contributed  perhaps  even  more  to  this.  Take  the  map 
of  Europe,  and  you  will  observe  that  this  geographical 


THE   BEGINNINGS   OF   A   NAVY.  9 

division  can  be  separated,  as  it  were,  into  two  halves 
which  complement  each  other  in  their  products.  Nor- 
way and  Sweden  with  the  countries  along  the  Baltic 
produce  an  abundance  of  timber,  while  the  first  may 
almost  be  regarded  as  the  stone  quarry  of  Northwest- 
ern Europe.  Even  to-day  the  stone  used  for  piers  and 
breakwaters  in  Holland  is  still  largely  drawn  from  the 
quarries  of  Norway.  Those  northern  countries  were 
rich  also  in  their  great  abundance  of  fish  and  their  fer- 
tile grain  fields.  England  possessed  great  flocks  of 
sheep  which  supplied  the  Flemish  cloth  factories  with 
excellent  wool.  The  southern  states  of  Europe,  on  the 
other  hand,  furnished  an  abundance  of  wine,  oil  and 
salt.  And  at  that  early  period,  much  more  than  now 
even,  all  these  products  were  among  the  first  necessities 
of  life.  Now,  the  Netherlands  are  seen  to  lie  almost 
midway  in  Western  Europe,  making,  so  to  speak,  the 
middle  point  between  the  Northern  and  Southern  di- 
visions. The  Rhine,  then  as  now  the  great  commercial 
artery  of  the  western  part  of  the  continent,  was  of  much 
greater  importance  as  a  highway  to  the  sea  at  that 
period  than  now.  But  this  reaches  the  sea  only  through 
Holland.  Of  almost  as  great  commercial  importance 
as  the  Rhine  were  some  of  the  other  navigable  rivers, 
chief  among  which  is  the  Scheldt,  with  its  many  broad 
arms  and  wide  estuaries,  which  is  the  great  waterway 
to  and  outlet  from  the  Southern  Netherlands.  This 
favorable  location,  now,  with  reference  to  the  countries 
that  brought  forth  so  bountifully  all  sorts  of  products, 
coupled  with  its  great  extent  of  coast,  its  navigable 
rivers  and  broad  roadsteads,  could  not  but  lead  to 
Holland's  becoming  the  market  and  storehouse  where 


10  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

merchants  from  far  and  near  met  each  other  and  con- 
ducted their  affairs,  and  where  the  commercial  move- 
ments of  Europe  centered. 

In  the  earliest  history  of  the  country  the  most  im- 
portant commercial  town  of  the  north  was  Dorestad, 
the  present  Wyk-by-Duurstede ;  but  the  repeated  in- 
roads of  the  plundering  Northmen  completely  ruined 
its  commerce.  Later,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  Bruges  be- 
came the  great  entrepot  both  of  the  Netherlands  and 
of  all  Europe.  This,  however,  was  early  supplanted 
by  Antwerp,  which  in  turn  became  the  most  important 
commercial  port.  Here  the  wealthy  merchants  had  their 
great  warehouses,  the  bankers  their  counting-houses 
which  were  the  places  of  exchange  for  all  the  civilized 
world,  and  from  Antwerp  the  priceless  goods  of  the 
East  were  sent  out  over  all  central  Europe.  Neither 
Bruges  nor  Antwerp,  however,  was  possessed  of  a 
merchant  marine  worthy  of  the  name ;  very  few  ships 
were  either  built  or  belonged  there.  The  foreign  goods 
that  brought  them  their  wealth  and  importance  were 
carried  in  foreign  bottoms,  and  these  were  mainly  ves- 
sels built  in  or  belonging  to  some  port  in  the  provinces 
of  Holland  and  Zeeland.  It  was  the  great  maritime 
commerce  developed  by  these  two  provinces,  and  the 
wealth  gained  by  this,  that  enabled  them  to  play  the 
most  important  role  in  the  history  of  the  Dutch  Repub- 
lic; and  it  was  these,  too,  that  thus  were  able  to  fur- 
nish the  greater  number  of  Holland's  renowned  heroes 
of  the  sea. 

Quite  early  in  the  history  of  the  Netherlands  a  num- 
ber of  its  northern  seaports  joined  the  league  of  the 
Hanseatic  towns.  This  Hanseatic  league  was  mainly 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  A  NAVY.  II 

a  union  of  cities  in  different  parts  of  Germany  animated 
with  the  spirit  of  liberty,  and  was  established  in  the 
first  place  to  protect  commerce  against  the  "robber 
knights"  on  land  and  the  pirates  on  the  sea.  Its  sec- 
ondary object  was  to  oppose  the  arbitrary  conduct  of 
the  princes  that  sought  to  restrict  the  rights  and  priv- 
ileges of  the  cities.  This  union  or  league  swept  the 
pirates  from  the  northern  seas;  before  its  squadrons 
melted  away  the  fleets  of  the  Northmen,  once  the  terror 
of  all  Europe ;  and  by  this  the  kings  of  the  North  were 
more  than  once  defeated  and  humbled.  During  the 
first  period  of  its  existence  the  League  monopolized  the 
entire  commerce  of  the  Baltic,  besides  trading  exten- 
sively with  every  port  in  other  parts  of  Europe.  As, 
however,  there  was  no  written  or  recognized  bond  be- 
tween its  members,  the  only  tie  that  held  them  together 
being  the  general  interest,  and  the  stronger  here  also 
frequently  seeking  to  injure  the  weaker,  the  germs 
were  laid,  even  quite  early,  that  led  to  the  ultimate  dis- 
ruption of  the  League.  In  this  disruption  the  provinces 
of  Holland  and  Zeeland  had  perhaps  the  greatest  share, 
their  commerce  gradually  but  surely  displacing  that  of 
the  Hanse  towns.  And  their  ability  to  bring  this  about 
they  owed  mainly  to  one  of  their  industries,  the  herring 
fishery. 

At  first  view  it  would  seem  well-nigh  impossible 
that  a  small,  insignificant  fish  should  lay  the  founda- 
tions of  a  commerce  that  ultimately  covered  every  nav- 
igable water,  whether  river,  bay  or  sea.  And  yet  this 
great  thing  the  herring  did  for  Holland.  Toward  the 
end  of  the  I4th  century  William  Beukelszoon,  of  Bier- 
vliet,  in  Dutch  Flanders,  invented  an  entirely  new 


12  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

method  of  curing  fish,  which  was  especially  applied  to 
the  curing  of  herring,  in  the  catching  of  which  the 
Dutch  had  at  that  time  almost  a  monopoly.  Thus 
cured,  the  herring  at  once  took  its  place  as  a  most  deli- 
cate and  palatable  article  of  food,  not  only  in  the  Neth- 
erlands but  wherever  it  became  known.  It  soon  grew 
to  be  such  an  important  article  of  commerce  that  the 
trade  in  herring  was  called  the  gold  mine  of  the  Neth- 
erlands. And  those  who  brought  this  fish  by  almost 
countless  thousands  from  the  sea  were  mainly  the  fish- 
ermen of  Holland  and  Zeeland. 

Let  us  see  how  this  little  fish  extended  the  ocean  com- 
merce of  that  small  country  to  such  a  degree  as  ulti- 
mately to  make  Holland  one  of  the  controlling  nations 
of  Europe.  Only  a  small  part  of  the  cured  herring 
could  be  consumed  at  home ;  by  far jtjhe..gr_eater  part  had 
to  find  a  market  elsewhere.  The  Dutch  were  far  too 
thrifty,  however,  to  wait  at  home  for  purchasers  to  take 
the  surplus  herring  off  their  hands ;  they,  therefore, 
loaded  their  ships  with  them  and,  with  the  cheese  and 
butter  of  which  Friesland  furnished  such  a  superabun- 
dance, they  carried  their  herring  abroad.  This  soon 
called  for  a  large  number  of  vessels.  The  salt  needed 
for  the  curing  was  at  first  brought  from  Spain  and 
France  in  vessels  belonging  to  those  countries ;  but  as 
these  did  not  bring  enough  the  Dutch  sent  their  own 
ships  to  fetch  it.  It  was  not  long  before  none  but 
their  own  craft  were  employed  in  this.  And  that  these 
did  not  start  empty  or  merely  in  ballast,  but  carried 
some  cargo,  either  of  fish  or  other  merchandise,  was 
a  matter  of  course.  But  the  salt  imported  was  impure 
and  coarse ;  it  had  to  be  refined.  Salt  refineries  were_ 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  A   NAVY.  13 

therefore  established  in  numerous  places ;  and  thus  an- 
other Dutch  industry  was  started.  Then  again  the  salt 
brought  in  and  refined  far  exceeded  the  amount  needed 
for  the  curing  establishments,  and  so  those  that  im- 
ported this  article  and  refined  it  now  had  salt  to  sell. 
Nor  were  they  slow  in  finding  markets  for  this  com- 
modity also.  It  was  carried  mainly  to  ports  on  the 
Baltic  and  was  usually  exchanged  for  grain.  Now  this 
grain  again,  formerly  brought  to  Holland  in  foreign 
bottoms,  was  carried  in  its  own  ships  manned  by  its 
own  sailors.  But  this  also  was  brought  in  more  abun- 
dantly than  the  country  needed  for  its  own  consump- 
tion. The  excess,  therefore,  became  another  article  of 
commerce  with  other  lands,  and  this  gradually  led  to 
the  gigantic  grain  trade  of  the  Baltic,  which  soon  be- 
came the  most  flourishing  branch  ^of  Dutch  foreign 
commerce.  It  goes  without  saying  that  all  this  must 
have  greatly  advanced  ship-building,  so  that  shipyards 
sprang  up  wherever  there  was  water  enough  to  launch 
vessels,  and  that  all  related  trades  and  branches  multi- 
plied with  equal  pace.  The  timber  and  other  neces- 
saries for  all  this  were  mainly  brought  from  Norway 
and  other  countries  bordering  on  the  Baltic.  But  since 
the  vessels  needed  to  carry  the  timber  were  to  be  spe- 
cially adapted  for  this,  the  Dutch  soon  became  experts 
in  the  construction  of  such  craft.  Then  again  as  these 
vessels  could  not  find  constant  employment  by  merely 
carrying  lumber  to  Holland,  they  soon  became  the  car- 
riers of  timber  for  other  countries  of  Europe,  and  that 
to  such  an  extent  that  in  a  short  time  the  Hollanders 
held  almost  the  monopoly  of  this  also.  At  the  opening 


14  NAVAL  HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

of  the  I7th  century  they  employed  no  less  than  500 
ships  for  this  purpose  alone. 

During  the  eighty  years'  war  with  Spain  for  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  when  the  Dutch  were  forbidden 
to  trade  with  Spanish  ports,  they  were  compelled 
to  seek  the  indispensable  salt  elsewhere,  and 
they  then  procured  it  from  the  Azores.  By 
this  time  the  bitter  hostility  that  Spain  had 
herself  inspired  in  the  Hollanders  by  her  cruel 
oppression  was  added  to  the  spirit  of  enterprise. 
So  that  now  the  Dutch  were  beginning  to  use  their 
skill  and  daring  upon  the  deep  against  their  implacable 
foe.  Now  the  distance  from  the  Azores  to  the  coast 
of  Guinea  is  not  very  great.  Guinea  had  been  a  Portu- 
guese possession,  but  by  the  conquest  of  Portugal  in 
1581  had  come  under  Spanish  dominion,  though  it  was 
still  occupied  by  the  Portuguese.  The  Dutch  sailors, 
accordingly,  crossed  over  to  Guinea  and  drove  the  lat- 
ter out.  Shortly  thereafter  they  cast  their  eyes  toward 
the  East  Indies,  rounded  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and 
made  their  first  appearance  in  Indian  waters.  Here 
they  at  once  established  commercial  relations  with  the 
natives,  conquered  one  Spanish  possession  after  an- 
other, and  subjected  almost  the  entire  East  Indian 
archipelago  to  their  dominion.  On  the  western  conti- 
nent they  were  for  a  number  of  years  in  possession  of 
Brazil;  established  colonies  on  the  northern  coast  of 
South  America  and  on  some  of  the  West  India  islands, 
and  where  now  the  lordly  Hudson  receives  on  its  bosom 
the  merchant  fleets  of  all  nations  they  established  the 
New  Netherlands  that  became  ultimately  no  small  fac- 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  A   NAVY.  15 

tor  in  the  founding  and  building  up  of  our  own  mighty 
republic. 

In  Africa  they  planted  themselves  so  firmly  that  to 
this  day  the  Cape  Colony,  though  no  longer  under 
Dutch  sway,  still  retains  much  of  the  spirit  and  customs 
of  the  ancestral  settlers.  From  them,  too,  have  sprung 
the  hardy  sons  of  the  essentially  Dutch  Orange  Free 
State  and  Transvaal  Republic,  who  in  our  day  have 
gained  such  fame  for  their  heroism  and  military  prow- 
ess. With  what  amazing  strides  the  commerce  of  the 
Netherlands  advanced  by  all  this  expansion  of  territory 
may  be  imagined. 

But  this  immense  maritime  commerce,  covering  as 
it  did  all  seas,  needed  protection,  in  times  of  actual  war 
against  the  enemy,  in  times  of  peace  against  the  Bar- 
bary  pirates  and  the  no  less  daring  and  unscrupulous 
Dunkirk  freebooters.  The  Algerines,  whose  principal 
pursuit  had  for  centuries  been  piracy,  rendered  com- 
merce on  the  Mediterranean  particularly  dangerous  to 
the  Dutch,  while  the  Dunkirkers  often  inflicted  great 
injury  upon  them  on  the  North  Sea  and  in  the  Eng- 
lish Channel.  A  navy,  strong  in  ships,  armament  and 
men,  became,  therefore,  an  absolute  necessity.  And  for 
this  what  better  nursery  could  have  been  found  than 
in  the  vast  world  commerce  of  Holland  ?  The  experi- 
ence of  centuries,  in  their  struggles  with  and  upon  the 
sea,  had  produced  in  the  Netherlands  a  race  of  seamen 
who  have  never  had  their  superiors ;  men  browned  and 
hardened  mid  the  storms  of  the  Atlantic  and  beneath 
the  burning  skies  of  the  East;  intrepid  and  calm  in  a 
thousand  dangers;  stubborn,  tough  and  persistent  in 
the  face  of  all  opposing  difficulties,  and  withal  pos- 


1 6  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND.  ' 

sessed  of  a  never-swerving  reliance  upon  God.  And 
what  commanders  were  theirs !  Of  noble  descent  very 
few  could  boast ;  most  of  them  springing  from  the  com- 
mon people.  Even  in  their  earliest  youth,  these  had 
traversed  the  boisterous  waves,  beginning  their  ap- 
prenticeship as  cook's  mate,  or  in  some  equally  low"  and 
subordinate  position.  Visiting  every  land,  East,  West, 
North  and  South,  they  became  familiar  with  every  wind 
and  tide,  with  every  bay,  harbor,  and  roadstead.  In 
times  of  need  and  peril  they  were  ever  eager  to  serve 
their  country  with  their  experience  and  strength,  con- 
temptuous of  death,  and  full  of  the  loftiest  and  most  un- 
selfish patriotism.  In  all  that  pertained  to  skilful 
seamanship,  to  hardihood  and  unfailing  courage  no 
nation  of  the  i6th  and  lyth  centuries  surpassed  them. 
The  English  were,  indeed,  mighty  competitors,  and 
were  always  superior  to  the  Dutch  in  ships,  equipment 
and  armament ;  but  in  skill  in  manoeuvring  and  rapidity 
of  movement  they  were  for  a  long  time  inferior.  By 
these  characteristics,  coupled  with  their  daring  and  in- 
trepidity, the  Dutch  sailors  frequently  overcame  their 
English  antagonists  and  dared  to  assail  them  even  ill 
their  own  harbors.  And  could  it  ever  have  been  possi- 
ble for  the  people  of  the  insignificant  republic  to  shake 
off  the  yoke  of  their  overweening  and  mighty  Spanish 
tyrant,  if  the  sea,  usually  their  relentless  foe,  but  now 
their  faithful  ally,  had  not  been  the  field  on  which  their 
oppressors  could  be  met?  And  this  they  did  with  such 
success  as  at  last  to  wear  out  the  Spaniards,  to  render 
their  victories  on  land  utterly  useless,  and  in  the  end  to 
hurl  them  irredeemably  from  their  proud  and  haughty 
position  among  the  nations. 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  A   NAVY.  17 

Quite  early  in  their  history  the  North  Netherlander 
were  distinguished  for  their  daring  exploits  at  sea.  In 
the  year  1217  Count  William  the  First  of  Holland 
joined  the  Crusades  with  a  numerous  following  of 
Hollanders  and  Frisians  in  a  fleet  of  eighty  vessels. 
They  first  sailed  to  Spanish  Galicia,  whence  they  made 
a  pilgrimage  to  San  lago  de  Compostella ;  after  which 
they  put  to  sea  again  and  anchored  before  Lisbon. 
Here  they  were  invited  to  aid  the  Portuguese  in  their 
war  with  the  Moors.  Part  of  the  Crusaders  were  of  the 
opinion  that  they  ought  to  sail  without  delay  for  the 
Holy  Land,  and  did  so;  but  the  remainder,  among 
whom  were  Count  William  and  his  immediate  follow- 
ers, remained  and  captured  the  Alcazar  from  the  in- 
fidels. When  this  was  reported  to  the  Pope  he  sent  a 
letter  to  the  Count  naming  him  Constable  of  the  Cru- 
saders and  requesting  him  to  remain  in  the  peninsula 
in  order  to  render  further  assistance  in  the  war  against 
the  Moors.  But  the  object  of  the  expedition  was  the 
Holy  Land  and  not  Spain  or  Portugal,  so  that  the  fleet 
set  sail  again  and  arrived  before  St.  Jean  d'Acre  shortly 
after  Easter,  1218.  Only  fifty  of  the  eighty  ships  that 
had  set  out  from  Holland  reached  this  place,  the  re- 
mainder having  been  lost  in  the  passage  through  the 
Mediterranean.  Here  they  were  joined  by  the  rest  of 
the  Crusaders  made  up  of  numbers  from  almost  every 
European  nation.  Instead,  however,  of  now  proceed- 
ing straight  to  the  Holy  Land  they  were  induced  by  the 
Italian  maritime  powers  to  undertake  an  expedition 
against  Egypt.  Upon  this  they  entered  in  May  of  the 
following  year.  When  they  reached  the  Delta  of  the 
Nile  they  at  once  began  the  siege  of  Damietta,  situated 


1 8  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

between  an  arm  of  the  great  river  and  a  lake.  This 
city  was  not  only  a  most  important  commercial  centre, 
but,  because  of  its  prodigious  fortifications,  was  also 
regarded  as  the  key  to  the  entire  country.  Midway  in 
the  Nile  a  massive,  lofty  tower  had  been  built  from 
which  stretched  a  strong  iron  chain  to  other  towers 
built  one  on  each  side  of  the  river.  By  this,  as  well 
as  by  other  towers,  double  walls,  and  moats,  approach 
to  the  city  by  land  or  sea  had  been  shut  off  on  all  sides. 
The  siege  of  such  a  city,  lying  as  it  were  in  the  water, 
was  best  intrusted  to  the  men  from  Friesland,  Holland, 
Northern  Germany  and  Norway,  men  who  were  per- 
fectly familiar  with  everything  that  pertained  to  war- 
fare on  water.  And,  indeed,  the  first  successful  un- 
dertaking against  the  city  was  carried  out  by  some  of 
these.  First  the  tower  built  in  the  river  had  to  be 
taken  before  anything  serious  could  be  entered  upon 
against  the  city  itself,  so  that  in  an  assault  the  be- 
siegers might  not  be  exposed  between  the  city  and 
tower  to  the  terrible  fire  of  warlike  missiles  that  would 
be  hurled  upon  them  from  all  sides.  Before  attacking 
the  river  tower,  however,  they  assailed  and  took  that 
on  the  west  bank,  because  this  could  be  attacked  at 
the  same  time  by  land  and  water.  After  this  the  as- 
sault on  the  middle  tower  was  begun  in  the  following 
manner:  On  the  decks  of  the  vessels  sent  to  attack 
this  tall  ladders  were  placed  which,  as  soon  as  they 
were  within  reach,  were  set  up  against  the  tower.  By 
these  ladders  the  besiegers  attempted  to  reach  and  climb 
over  the  battlements.  But  the  besieged  hurled  such  an 
avalanche  of  stones,  arrows  and  Greek  fire  at  their  as- 
sailants that  the  ladders  were  upset  and  with  all  upon 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  A  NAVY.  19 

them  hurled  into  the  stream.  This  was  not  calculated 
to  raise  the  courage  of  the  besiegers.  But,  at  the  ad- 
vice of  Oliver  of  Cologne,  the  Frisians  lashed  two  ves- 
sels firmly  together  and  built  on  these  a  square  tower- 
like  structure  fixed  on  a  turn-table  so  that  it  could  be 
turned  in  any  direction.  Notwithstanding  the  shower  of 
missiles  and  Greek  fire  from  the  defenders,  this  mon- 
ster was  brought  close  up  to  the  tower.  It  was  filled 
with  men  and  reached  above  the  highest  battlements. 
At  the  first  onset  one  Frisian  caused  consternation 
among  the  besieged  by  hurling  among  them  from  the 
top  of  the  assaulting  tower  a  massive  spear  heavy 
enough  to  have  tested  the  strength  of  a  Samson.  An- 
other Frisian  boldly  entered  the  enemy's  tower  armed 
only  with  a  flail.  With  this  he  laid  about  him  so  lusti- 
ly as  to  drive  all  before  him,  and  penetrated  even  to 
the  commander's  standard,  which  he  captured.  Mean- 
while the  rest  of  the  besiegers  had  gained  an  entrance 
and  the  garrison,  already  cowed  and  spiritless,  were 
either  cut  down  or  taken  prisoners.  This  done,  the 
Crusaders  set  about  to  remove  the  chain  which  shut  off 
access  to  the  city  by  the  river.  Before  this  chain  the 
infidels  had  laid  a  floating  bridge  built  on  boats.  This 
was  attacked  by  not  more  than  ten  Frisians,  who,  after 
a  hot  fight  with  those  set  to  guard  it,  completely  de- 
molished it.  After  this  the  removal  of  the  chain  was  a 
comparatively  easy  matter,  and  the  remaining  defences 
one  after  the  other  were  taken.  The  siege  of  the  great 
tower  alone  had  lasted  three  months,  and  its  capture 
was  due  mainly  to  the  heroic  and  resistless  bravery  of 
the  Frisians.  The  tower  being  in  their  possession,  the 
Crusaders  proceeded  with  the  siege  of  the  city.  This, 


SO  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

however,  progressed  but  slowly.  While  it  was  in 
progress  the  Egyptian  commander  died,  leaving  the 
further  defence  of  the  city  to  his  son;  but  he,  by  a 
mutiny  among  his  troops,  was  compelled  to  leave  the 
city.  This  proved  to  be  of  but  small  advantage  to  the 
besiegers,  partly  because  order  was  soon  restored  in 
the  city,  partly  on  account  of  the  discord  that  had 
broken  out  among  the  Crusaders  themselves.  In  addi- 
tion to  this,  the  latter  suffered  severe  losses  from 
sickness  and  by  the  overflow  of  the  Nile,  upon  which 
they  had  never  reckoned,  which  flooded  their  camps 
and  drowned  a  great  many  of  them.  But  these  losses 
were  soon  more  than  made  good  by  the  arrival  of  fresh 
numbers  of  Crusaders.  At  length  the  Saracen  com- 
mander proposed  terms  of  peace.  He  offered  to  pur- 
chase the  departure  of  the  Crusaders  by  the  cession  of 
the  whole  of  the  former  kingdom  of  Jerusalem,  the 
liberation  of  all  Christian  prisoners,  the  surrender  of 
the  true  Cross  and,  in  addition,  a  sufficient  amount  of 
money  for  the  restoration  of  the  walls  of  the  Holy  City. 
These  extremely  liberal  terms  the  majority  of  the  Cru- 
saders were  ready  to  accept ;  but  the  rapacious  represen- 
tative of  the  Pope,  who  was  with  the  army,  wanted  the 
siege  to  go  on  till  the  city  could  be  captured  and 
plundered.  This  most  ignoble  counsel  prevailed — the 
siege  went  on  and,  after  a  defence  of  seventeen  months, 
Damietta  was  compelled  to  surrender  to  the  Christians. 
When  these  at  last  entered  the  place  they  found  the 
streets  covered  with  corpses,  the  stench  of  which  poi- 
soned the  air.  Of  the  70,000  inhabitants  which  the  city 
had  contained,  60,000  are  said  to  have  perished  from 
hunger  and  disease  as  well  as  by  the  weapons  of  their 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  A   NAVY.  21 

foes.  The  booty  distributed  among  the  Crusaders  was 
immense,  little  of  which,  however,  was  carried  home 
by  the  invaders,  the  most  of  it  being  recklessly  squan- 
dered by  these  followers  of  the  Cross  wherever  an 
opportunity  was  offered  to  gratify  their  intemperate 
passions.  The  city  was  declared  to  be  an  integral  part 
of  the  Christian  kingdom  of  Jerusalem;  but  within 
two  years  fell  again  into  the  possession  of  the  Moslem. 

Count  William  with  his  Hollanders  and  Frisians 
doubtless  returned  to  their  native  land  soon  after  the 
capture  of  Damietta,  since  his  name  is  not  mentioned 
in  connection  with  the  further  operations  of  the  Cru- 
saders against  the  Saracens. 

The  share  which  the  Netherlanders  had  in  this  un- 
dertaking was  great  enough  to  secure  for  them  an  il- 
lustrious fame  among  the  heroic  actors  of  that  time. 
The  remembrance  of  it  is  kept  alive  even  to  this  day 
in  the  city  of  Haarlem.  This  was  the  residential  town 
of  Count  William  I.,  who  sent  the  bells  found  in  Dami- 
etta as  a  present  to  the  city,  and  the  beautiful  carillon 
daily  heard  there  still  goes  by  the  name  "Damiaatjes" 
(Damietties).  These  used  to  be  rung,  like  the  English 
curfew,  at  9  o'clock  in  the  evening,  as  a  warning  to  all 
good  citizens,  and  particularly  to  the  young,  to  retire 
for  the  night.  This  custom  was  common  also  in  some 
other  parts  of  Holland  and  is  said  to  have  continued 
till  as  late  as  New  Year's  eve,  1869,  when  they  were 
rung  for  the  last  time  in  Amsterdam.  There  used  to 
be  a  song  sung  by  the  young  Dutch  folks  even  down  to 
comparatively  recent  days,  four  lines  of  which,  trans- 
lated, run  somewhat  as  follows : 


12  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

"At  the  Damietties'  ringing 
All  the  children  go  to  bed 
But  the  maidens  loiter  sometimes 
With  some  love  scheme  in  the  head." 

During  the  I5th  century  occurred  the  naval  war  with 
the  Hanseatic  League,  memorable  in  the  annals  of 
Dutch  achievement.  The  flourishing  state  and  great 
competition  of  the  Netherlanders  had  aroused  the  en- 
vious animosity  of  the  Hanse  towns,  so  that  more 
than  once  serious  collisions  had  taken  place  between 
the  vessels  of  those  rival  maritime  powers.  This  at 
last  reached  such  a  stage  that  embargoes  were  laid 
upon  all  Dutch  ships  found  in  the  harbors  of  the 
League,  while  in  open  sea  their  ships  were  taken  or 
sunk,  their  cargoes  plundered  and  the  sailors  carried 
off  captive.  The  League  also  entered  into  an  alliance 
with  the  Duke  of  Holstein,  the  Danes  and  other  powers 
of  northern  Europe,  and  even  with  Spain  and  Venice 
to  drive  the  Dutch  entirely  from  the  ocean. 

In  1437  the  Dutch  grain  fleet  coming  from  the  Bal- 
tic was  either  captured  or  destroyed  by  the  armed  ships 
of  the  League.  Only  the  year  before  great  tracts  of 
land  throughout  Holland  had  been  devastated  and  the 
crops  destroyed  by  one  of  those  terrible  floods  that  have 
so  often  turned  almost  the  whole  of  the  Low  Countries 
into  a  waste.  And  now  with  their  grain  fleets  destroyed 
and  the  prices  of  all  the  necessaries  of  life  risen  to  an 
unprecedented  height,  famine  threatened  the  people 
and  in  many  places  most  alarming  bread  riots  occurred. 
This  state  of  affairs  led  the  Hollanders  to  enter  upon 
negotiations  for  peace.  When,  however,  the  plenipo- 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  A  NAVY.  2J 

tentiaries  appointed  on  both  sides  met  to  consider  the 
terms  proposed  by  the  Dutch,  the  representatives  of  the 
League  haughtily  rejected  them  and  broke  off  the  con- 
ference. On  this  occasion  one  of  the  Dutch  commis- 
sioners said  to  the  envoys  from  Dantzic  and  Lubeck, 
who  had  done  most  toward  the  breaking  up  of  the  con- 
ference, "The  lion  is  asleep  now,  beware  that  you  do 
not  arouse  him.  And  when  you  do,  let  us  see  how  you 
shall  pacify  him  again."  The  Leaguers  went  off  de- 
termined to  continue  the  war  for  the  destruction  of 
their  rivals.  Strong  measures  had  to  be  taken  to  meet 
the  powerful  and  overweening  enemy.  With  their  ac- 
customed energy  and  dispatch  Holland  and  Zeeland 
had  a  number  of  men-of-war  ready  for  sea  before  the 
beginning  of  autumn,  which  were  at  once  sent  out  to 
the  Baltic  to  go  in  search  of  the  enemy.  In  this  and 
the  following  year  the  Dutch  captured  many  a  vessel 
belonging  to  the  League,  while  in  the  naval  combats 
between  the  fleets  of  the  two  powers  the  Hollanders  had 
nearly  always  the  upper  hand.  In  these  encounters  the 
League  lost  twenty  of  their  largest  vessels  of  war,  be- 
sides which  the  Dutch  captains  captured  three  from 
the  Spaniards  and  one  Venetian  carack  or  galleon. 
They  so  completely  cleared  the  Baltic  and  the  neighbor- 
ing waters  of  all  ships  of  the  League  that  one  of  the 
Dutch  commanders  carried  a  broom  at  the  masthead 
as  a  token  that  the  enemy  had  been  swept  from  those 
seas.  A  similar  act  is  also  ascribed  by  English  writers 
to  the  great  Tromp,  but  for  which  there  is  no  founda- 
tion in  truth,  as  will  be  seen  when  that  hero's  career 
shall  be  described.  In  1440  a  large  fleet  belonging 
to  the  League  sailed  for  the  Bay  of  Biscay  to  fetch  salt 


24  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

from  Spain.  On  the  outward  voyage  they  were  left 
undisturbed  by  the  Hollanders,  but,  as  they  returned 
heavily  laden  with  this  valuable  commodity,  they  were 
surrounded  by  the  Dutch  fleet  and  without  much  dif- 
ficulty captured  and  carried  off  to  Holland. 

Meanwhile,  however  great  the  damage  inflicted  upon 
the  League,  the  serious  consequences  of  the  war  were 
felt  in  the  Netherlands  also;  their  commerce  in  grain 
on  the  Baltic  suffered  greatly  and  almost  entirely 
ceased.  Both  sides,  therefore,  were  not  indisposed  to 
peace.  Accordingly,  in  the  summer  of  1441  the  en- 
voys of  both  powers  met  in  Copenhagen ;  but  the  ne- 
gotiations went  lagging  from  the  start.  Those  of  the 
League  now  demanded  immense  sums  as  indemnity  for 
the  loss  of  their  vessels  captured  by  the  Dutch,  while 
the  latter  were  in  no  mood  to  pay  out  many  guilders 
to  the  enemy  that  had  provoked  the  contest.  Had  not 
the  League,  they  asked,  before  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
also  refused  to  pay  an  indemnity,  and  that  in  the  case 
of  depredations  upon  the  commerce  of  Holland  in  a 
time  of  ostensible  peace?  Besides,  they  had  been 
warned  not  to  arouse  the  sleeping  lion ;  and  now  that 
he  had  been  aroused  and  had  been  making  good  use 
of  teeth  and  claws,  they  could  not  expect  him  not  only 
to  lie  quietly  down  now  but  even  to  pay  for  what  every- 
where would  be  regarded  as  his  lawful  prey.  Lions 
were  not  in  the  habit  of  being  thus  pacified.  The 
Leaguers,  however,  stood  by  their  demand,  and  the 
Dutch  were  equally  stubborn  in  their  refusal  to  com- 
ply with  them.  Negotiations  were  thus  on  the  point 
of  collapse  when  an  event  took  place  in  which  the  lion 
made  such  terrible  use  of  his  formidable  weapons  as  to 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  A   NAVY.  2$ 

lead  to  the  speedy  settlement  of  matters  in  favor  of  the 
Netherlanders.  Near  the  Norwegian  coast  six  small 
vessels — as  some  say,  only  three — belonging  to  the 
cities  of  Hoorn  and  Enkhuyzen,  were  forced  into 
a  fight  with  three  of  the  largest  war-vessels  be- 
longing to  the  League.  Before  the  battle  be- 
gan, the  Leaguers  boasted  that  they  would  hoist 
every  one  of  the  little  Dutch  ships  out  of  the 
water  and  set  them  down  on  their  own  decks.  To 
this  the  Dutchmen  replied  by  sailing  straight  at  the 
enemy.  As  soon  as  they  got  alongside  of  their  bulky 
opponents  they  threw  out  their  grappling  irons,  rushed 
with  irresistible  fury  over  the  sides,  and,  after  a  short 
but  obstinate  struggle,  were  in  possession  of  the  Leag- 
uers and  carried  them  in  triumph  to  Hoorn.  This  ex- 
ploit gave  the  League  a  stronger  inclination  to  peace, 
which  was  still  further  strengthened  by  some  of  their 
number  who  had  been  set  at  liberty  by  the  Dutch  and 
who  spoke  in  the  highest  terms  of  the  latters'  peaceful 
inclinations  and  of  their  ability  and  determination  to 
continue  the  war  if  the  League  should  choose  this 
rather  than  peace.  They  therefore  counselled  that 
peace  be  concluded  at  once.  Though  this  was  not  done, 
a  truce  for  ten  years  was  established  and  thereafter 
again  and  again  renewed,  by  which  the  freedom  of  nav- 
igation in  the  Baltic  was  assured  to  the  Dutch.  In  the 
course  of  time  the  commerce  of  the  Hanseatic  League 
was  almost  entirely  supplanted  by  that  of  the  Nether- 
lands. 

Though  the  Dutch  at  this  time  possessed  no  regu- 
larly organized  navy,  their  share  in  the  operations  at 
the  siege  of  Damietta  and  their  frequent  contests  at 


26  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

sea  with  the  Hanseatic  League  had  already  given  prom- 
ise of  the  prowess  and  heroism  which  their  sailors  were 
to  display  on  various  seas  and  with  many  foes  in  the 
two  succeeding  centuries.  They  had  also  gained  large 
experience  in  naval  warfare  already  during  the  preced- 
ing centuries  in  the  almost  endless  conflicts  that  were 
waged  between  the  Counts  that  ruled  the  various  parts 
into  which  the  Low  Countries  were  then  divided,  the 
fiercest  of  which  battles  were  often  waged  upon  the 
many  rivers  and  arms  of  the  sea  that  cut  the  Nether- 
lands in  every  direction.  But,  as  will  appear  in  some 
of  the  succeeding  chapters,  the  real  foundation  of  the 
Dutch  navy  was  laid  in  the  terrible  eighty  years'  war 
of  Holland  against  Spain,  a  war  more  cruel  and  bloody 
on  the  part  of  the  Spaniards  than  any  that  history  re- 
cords, and  on  the  part  of  the  Netherlanders  as  full  of 
heroism  and  unreserved  patriotic  sacrifice  as  was  ever 
displayed  by  any  people. 


THE  BEGGARS  OF  THE  SEA. 

A  MISSING  LINK  IN  HISTORY SPIRIT  OF  LIBERTY  FOS- 
TERED BY  THE  SEA THREE  CLASSES  OF  GUEUX  OR  BEG- 
GARS— PRIVATEERING  COMMON — STORY  OF  BIG  PETER — 
CHARACTER  OF  BEGGARS  OF  THE  SEA THEIR  ULTI- 
MATE AIM NATURE  OF  THEIR  VESSELS SUPINENESS  OF 

SPAIN TAKING  OF  BRIEL  AND   OTHER  CITIES VICTORIES 

ON  THE  SCHELDT — FIERCE  BATTLE  ON  THE  ZUYDER  ZEE — 
VICTORY  OVER   D'AVILA — RESULTS. 

There  is  yet  many  a  missing  link  in  the  chain  of 
the  world's  events  which,  when  they  shall  all  have  been 
discovered,  will  make  all  history  appear  "a  golden  chain 
by  which  the  whole  round  world  is  bound  about  the 
feet  of  God."  One  of  these  links  is  supplied  by  the 
story  of  the  Beggars  of  the  Sea. 

What  the  mountains  have  been  to  Switzerland  the 
sea  has  been  to  Holland,  the  arena  of  liberty  and  the 
nursery  of  heroes.  And  nowhere  has  the  influence  of 
the  sea  in  the  shaping  of  national  life  been  more  marked 
than  there.  England  herself  is  no  exception,  for,  un- 
like Holland,  she  did  not  owe  her  very  existence  to  the 
sea. 

Not  everywhere  has  contiguity  to  the  sea  inspired  a 
people  with  the  spirit  of  liberty.  Spain  and  Portugal 
are  mainly  maritime  nations,  yet  they  never  seem  to 
have  drawn  from  the  sea,  as  regards  their  national 
life,  any  other  impulse  than  an  ambition  for  conquest. 
Greed  was  the  motive  of  most  of  their  maritime  enter- 


28  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

prises;  gain  the  object  of  all  their  expeditions.  In  the 
Netherlands,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  the  sea  that  fanned 
the  flame,  if  it  did  not  give  birth  to,  the  spirit  of  lib- 
erty within  her  people;  it  was  the  sea  that  kept  that 
spirit  alive  when  everywhere  else  it  seemed  extin- 
guished or  crushed ;  it  was  the  sea  that  contributed  most 
mightily  to  their  ultimate  glorious  success  in  throwing 
off  the  yoke  of  Spain  and  in  establishing  to  so  large 
a  degree  the  principles  of  liberty  among  their  people. 
But  for  the  hardihood,  enterprise,  and  daring  acquired 
amid  waves  and  tempests,  it  is  more  than  doubtful  if 
the  Low  Countries  would  have  been  able  to  escape 
from  the  the  tyranny  of  Philip  the  Second.  And  that 
they  did  so  escape  was  due,  under  God,  largely  to  the 
Beggars  of  the  Sea. 

The  story  of  these  heroic  freebooters  remains  yet 
to  be  written,  so  far  at  least  as  the  English  tongue  is 
concerned.  Most  English  historians,  as  they  touch 
this  period,  mention  them  indeed,  but  it  is  only  with  a 
passing  notice.  Motley  speaks  of  them  somewhat 
more  fully,  yet  even  he  from  necessity  is  too  brief  here. 
And  yet  it  is  a  story  full  of  pathos,  interest  and  energy, 
and  one  of  no  small  moment  in  modern  history.  For 
it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  liberty  as  we  know  it  to- 
day is  largely  indebted  to  these  Dutch  sea-rovers  for 
its  existence. 

The  name  Gueux,  Beggars,  as  applied  to  the  Nether- 
land  malcontents,  was  first  used  by  Berlaymont,  a 
member  of  the  States  Council  appointed  by  Philip,  to 
Margaret,  the  Regentess  for  Spain  of  the  Netherlands 
at  the  time  when  the  confederated  nobles  presented 
their  humble  petition  for  a  moderation  of  the  murder- 


THE   BEGGARS  OF  THE   SEA.  2g 

ous  edicts  that  had  already  caused  the  death  of  so 
many  of  the  people  of  the  Netherlands.  When  the 
Duchess  had  shown  her  agitation  at  the  boldness  of  the 
nobles  and  their  request  Berlaymont  cried  out :  "What, 
Madam,  can  it  be  possible  that  you  are  afraid  of  these 
beggars?"  The  nobles^  however,  not  only  accepted  the 
opprobrious  epithet  but  gloried  in  it.  As  to  the  origin 
of  the  word  itself  and  its  meaning,  there  is  some  dif- 
ference of  opinion,  though  that  now  given  to  it  has 
been  universally  accepted.  As  a  matter  of  curiosity  it 
may  be  mentioned  that  one  learned  writer  of  that  day, 
Cornelius  Valerius,  explained  the  word  "gueux"  by 
making  it  equivalent  to  the  Dutch  "guit,"  a  rogue  or 
vagabond;  and  this  again  he  derives  from  "Goth." 
And  such  a  derivation,  if  philology  could  sanction  it, 
would  not  seem  so  far  fetched  when  we  bear  in  mind 
the  character  and  conduct  of  these  Beggars  or  Gueux, 
who  in  these  respects  fully  resembled  the  fiercest  of  the 
Goths  that  ever  wrought  devastation.  The  Gueux 
themselves,  however,  must  have  been  highly  amused  at 
the  meaning  given  to  the  word  by  a  Frisian,  one  evi- 
dently better  acquainted  with  Latin  than  with  the 
French  of  his  day.  He  understood  the  word  to  mean 
geese,  as  shown  in  an  epigram  addressed  to  his  native 
province  in  which  he  foretold  its  devastation  by  the 
Beggars.  "Prostrate  shalt  thou  lie,  a  horrid  prey  to 
the  geese."  But  though  geese  once  saved  Rome,  these 
Beggars  were  something  far  more  than  mere  cacklers. 
Beggars  they  were  indeed  with  very  few  exceptions, 
plundered  as  they  had  been  of  all  their  possessions; 
but  they  exerted  an  influence  and  wielded  a  power  that 


30.  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

defied  and  ultimately  completely  defeated  the  force  of 
mighty  and  insolent  Spain. 

The  Beggars  consisted  of  three  classes.  First,  there 
were  the  nobles,  led  by  Counts  Egmont  and  Horn,  with 
their  followers,  to  whom  the  sobriquet  was  first  applied 
with  such  utter  derision.  With  these  their  enemies 
classed  any  patriot  who  sympathized  with,  suffered  or 
fought  for  the  cause  of  civil  and  religious  liberty 
against  the  tyranny  of  Spain  and  its  Satanic  Inquisi- 
tion. Next  there  were  the  Wild  Beggars,  or  Beggars 
of  the  Woods,  as  they  were  called,  the  Robin  Hoods 
of  the  Netherlands.  These  consisted  mainly  of  fugi- 
tives and  exiles  from  the  southern  -provinces  upon 
whose  heads.a..price  had  been  set  by  Alva  and  his  sub- 
ordinates. They  had  their  retreats  in  the  forests 
whence  they  spread  the  terror  of  their  name  throughout 
y  the  land.  They  waged  their  partisan  warfare  in  the 
name  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  (from  whom,  however, 
they  had  neither  commission. .nor  consent),  especially 
against  priests  and  officers  of  the  Spanish  Courts, 
whom  they  either  killed,  or,  if  these  were  pos- 
sessed of  wealth,  plundered  or  held  for  ran- 
som. They  were  indeed  a  desperate  set,  but 
rendered  such  by  the  brutal  cruelties  which 
they  and  theirs  had  endured  at  the  hands  of 
the  monster  Titelman  and  others,  who  in  wanton 
barbarity  would  drag  whole  families  from  their  beds  in 
the  dead  of  night  and  burn  them  to  ashes  at  the  stake. 
Yet  even  these  Beggars  of  the  Woods  observed  some 
degree  of  discipline  and  moderation.  They  were  not 
mere  marauding  robbers.  Farmers  and  mechanics  they 
left  unharmed,  and  merchants  and  travellers  were 


THE  BEGGARS  OF  THE  SEA.  31 

equally  safe  with  them,  provided  they  were  not  suspect- 
ed of  being  in  favor  of  the  common  oppressors.  They 
even  acted  frequently  as  a  sort  of  volunteer  police,  fer- 
reting out  the  common  robbers  who  had  hidden  in  the 
forests  and  delivering  them  to  the  sheriffs,  who  for  this 
purpose  would  come  to  the  entrance  of  the  wood.  Their 
arms  consisted  of  a  musket  slung  over  the  back,  a 
dagger  in  the  girdle,  and  a  pike,  the  long  stick  of  which 
was  used  as  a  pole  with  which  to  leap  ditches.  When 
caught,  they  were  subjected  to  fearful  punishment,  be- 
ing either  burned  at  the  stake  or  roasted  alive  over  a 
slow  fire. 

The  Beggars  of  the  Sea  had  an  origin  similar  to  that 
of  the  Forest  Beggars  in  that  they,  too,  were  fugitives 
or  exiles  driven  out  by  the  Inquisition  or  the  Blood 
Council.  But  they  proved  ultimately  to  be  of  far 
greater  use  to  the  cause  of  Netherland  freedom,  es- 
pecially when  they  came  under  the  wise,  prudent  and 
skilful  direction  of  the  great  William  the  Silent.  From  * 
him  they  received  a  better  organization  and  discipline, 
while  he  at  the  same  time  infused  into  them  a  loftier 
spirit  of  patriotism.  Indeed,  the  noble  title,  "Deliver- 
ers of  the  Netherlands,"  given  them  by  one  historian, 
is  far  from  undeserved. 

That  a  people,  accustomed  to  the  sea  from  their  earli- 
est history,  should  instinctively  turn  to  this  not  only 
as  a  place  of  refuge  or  as  the  field  upon  which  to  ob- 
tain for  themselves  and  those  depending  upon  them  that 
subsistence  which  had  been  made  impossible  in  their 
own  homesteads,  but  as  the  arena  on  which  to  meet  and, 
if  possible,  to  defeat  their  implacable  antagonists,  was 
but  natural.  And  no  less  natural  was  it  that  at  first. 


3*  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

and  so  long  as  they  were  unorganized,  their  freeboot- 
ing  should  be  accompanied  by  lawlessness.  Indeed, 
*  what  laws  were  they  to  obey  ?  There  was  not  a  com- 
mander of  these  privateers,  nor  one  of  the  meanest  of 
their  sailors,  who  had  not  been  outlawed  and  driven 
from  home  and  kindred  for  no  reason  but  that  of  ad- 
herence to  the  Reformed  religion.  And  then  all  about 
them  there  had  been,  and  still  were,  abundant  examples 
of  lawless  sea-roving.  Privateering  was  a  common 
resort  in  those  days  to  which  the  disaffected  or  op- 
pressed among  maritime  peoples  turned.  The  unfortu- 
nate Earl  of  Bothwell,  third  husband  of  Mary  Stuart, 
driven  from  Scotland,  saw  himself  compelled  to  roam 
the  seas  and  had  already  since  1567  been  forced  to  re- 
pent of  this  choice  of  a  livelihood  in  a  Norwegian 
prison.  The  French  under  Conde,  Chatillon  and  oth- 
ers had  adopted  the  same  course  contemporaneously 
with  the  Netherlanders.  But  there  was  no  need  here 
of  foreign  examples.  The  past  history  of  their  country 
pointed  the  outlawed  patriots  to  the  sea  as  their  only 
and  abiding  resource.  Hollanders  and  Frisians,  Zee- 
landers  and  Flemings  had  plowed  the  seas  from  the 
earliest  times  and  had  waged  fierce  battles  upon  it  and 
upon  their  inland  waters  with  each  other  or  with  for- 
eign foes.  No  longer  ago  than  1520  Big  Peter  had 
died,  one  of  their  own  privateers,  the  boldest  of  his 
time,  and  when  the  revolt  of  the  Netherlands  against 
Spain  began  there  may  easily  have  been  still  some  old 
greybeards  who  in  their  youth  had  learned  under 
Peter's  flag  the  daring  and  enterprise  with  which  in 
these  later  days  to  combat  successfully  the  enemy  of 
their  religion  and  fatherland. 


THE   BEGGARS   OF   THE   SEA.  33 

The  bold  freebooter  here  mentioned  was  nothing 
but  a  common  Frisian  farmer,  but  at  the  time  of  the 
civil  wars  in  the  northern  provinces,  during  the  reign 
of  Maximilian  of  Austria,  he  had  under  his  command 
no  less  than  150  vessels.  With  these  he  cleared  the 
Zuyder  Zee  of  all  hostile  ships  and  laid  waste  the 
coasts  and  plundered  the  cities  of  the  Province  of  Hol- 
land. The  Austrian  governor  made  every  effort  to 
get  the  formidable  partisan  into  his  power;  but  each 
attempt  proved  fruitless.  One  day  a  number  of  sol- 
diers, sent  out  to  capture  him,  approached  the  place 
where  he  lived  and,  seeing  a  farmer  ploughing  in  the 
field,  asked  him  to  point  out  the  house  of  Big  Peter. 
Stooping  over  first  to  take  the  iron  with  which  he 
cleaned  his  ploughshare,  this  Dutch  Cincinnatus  raised 
himself  to  his  full  height  and,  pointing  to  a  house  close 
by,  said:  "There  is  where  Big  Peter  lives,  and  here 
he  stands  before  you.  What  do  you  want  of  him?" 
Then  with  the  terrible  weapon  in  his  mighty  fist  he 
struck  down  the  nearest  of  the  Austrians,  whereupon 
the  rest  took  to  their  heels.  The  giant  partisan  leader 
after  a  life  of  warfare  passed  away  peacefully  at 
Sneek,  where  his  tombstone  may  still  be  seen. 

In  estimating  the  character  of  these  Beggars  of  the 
Sea  the  causes  that  produced  both  them  and  it  must  not 
be  overlooked  when  their  lives  and  acts  pass  under  re- 
view. History  has  taken  care  to  preserve  for  us  in 
all  the  gloom  of  their  coloring  the  causes  that  forced 
so  many  of  the  otherwise  so  peaceful  inhabitants  of  the 
Netherlands  into  this  wild  life,  that  turned  so  many 
quiet  burghers  into  the  fiercest  fighting  men  of  modern 
times.  More  than  ten  thousand  of  the  best  citizens  were 


34  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

fugitives  from  home,  kindred  and  possessions,  penni- 
less beggars  robbed  of  their  all,  and,  with  a  price  set 
upon  every  head,  forbidden  to  breathe  the  air.  Thou- 
sands of  their  kindred  and  neighbors,  too,  were  almost 
daily  falling  by  the  hands  of  the  executioners  appointed 
by  the  Bloody  Council  and  by  the  Inquisition.  William 
the  Silent  affirms  that  even  before  Alva's  arrival  more 
than  fifty  thousand  of  the  people  of  the  Netherlands 
had  perished  by  the  persecutions  of  Rome,  and  when 
that  bloodthirsty  butcher  came  the  number  was  con- 
stantly augmented.  Everywhere  the  agents  of  the 
iniquitous  Inquisition  were  seizing,  condemning,  tortur- 
ing and  burning  whom  they  could,  or  banishing  and  set- 
ting a  price  upon  the  heads  of  those  whom  they  could 
not  seize,  at  the  same  time  filling  the  coffers  of  the 
miscalled  Holy  Office  and  of  Spain  with  the  proceeds 
of  the  forfeited  fortunes  and  estates.  Everywhere 
were  seen  gallows  for  hanging,  racks  for  torturing, 
stakes  for  burning ;  everywhere  the  most  pitiful  scenes 
of  suffering  and  cruelties  were  exhibited,  accompanied 
by  the  tears  and  wailings  of  women  and  children.  On 
every  road  could  be  met  widows  and  orphans  bereft 
of  husbands  and  fathers ;  helpless  women  and  maidens 
were  wandering  wretchedly  through  fields  and  forests 
fleeing  from  the  insults  and  abuse  of  a  beastly,  brutal, 
libidinous  soldiery.  Nowhere,  either,  appeared  pros- 
pect of  deliverance;  no  single  ray  of  hope  anywhere 
penetrated  their  darkness;  every  moment  of  life  was 
shrouded  in  despair.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  fath- 
ers, husbands,  and  sons  that  could  escape  this  constant 
terror  and  outrage  should  seek  for  a  refuge  and  means 
of  vengeance,  if  it  might  not  be  of  deliverance,  on  the 


THE   BEGGARS   OF   THE   SEA.  35 

sea,  the  only  field  open  to  them ;  or  that  many  should 
there  show  their  sympathy  for  these  hapless  exiles  and 
join  them  in  seeking  to  glut  their  vengeance  upon  the 
common  foe  ?  Or,  again,  is  it  surprising  that  these,  so 
driven  from  home  and  hearthstone,  these  innocently 
outlawed,  carrying  with  them  the  daily,  hourly  remem- 
brance of  their  own  cruel  wrongs  and  of  the  agonies  of 
their  loved  ones  on  the  excruciating  rack  or  the  blaz- 
ing stake,  should  have  become  the  pitiless  foes  of  all 
that  wore  the  cassock  or  bore  the  badge  of  Spain  ?  In 
character,  indeed,  they  were  very  far  from  saintly ;  but 
they  were  also  equally  far  from  laying  claim  to  any- 
thing of  the  sort.  The  noble  Beggars,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  William  the  Silent,  against  whose  noble  life 
even  his  enemies  could  bring  no  charge,  and  that 
Dutch  Bayard,  Marnix  of  St.  Aldegonde,  were  nearly 
all  men  of  wholly  intemperate  lives,  fond  of  noisy  rev- 
elry, extravagant  in  act  and  coarse  in  habits  and 
speech.  But  this  belonged  to  the  times;  these  were 
common  vices  and  such  as,  in  their  grossness  at  least, 
have  disappeared  among  the  same  class  only  in  our 
own  times ;  if,  indeed,  they  have  disappeared.  And  if 
these  beggars  among  the  nobles  were  rude,  it  could 
not  be  otherwise  than  that  the  lower  and  rougher  class, 
composing  most  of  the  Beggars  of  the  Sea,  should  be 
coarse,  vulgar  and  reckless.  And  their  sea-roving  and 
freebooting  life  would  only  increase  these  character- 
istics. At  first,  in  most  instances,  what  was  gained  by 
the  capture  of  some  hostile  vessels,  instead  of  being 
contributed  to  the  general  welfare,  was  spent  with  all 
the  customary  reckless  prodigality  of  sailors,  and  that 
intensified  doubtless  by  the  fact  that  they  were  often 


36  NAVAL    HEROES   OF   HOLLAND. 

reduced  to  the  point  of  starvation.  It  went  with  them 
somewhat  as  Southey  makes  one  of  his  characters  ex- 
press it  in  one  of  his  Botany  Bay  Eclogues : 

"And  the  hard  battle  won,  if  the  prize  be  not  sunk, 
The  captain  gets  rich  and  the  sailors  get  drunk." 

To  their  lasting  honor  it  may  be  said,  however,  that 
\  none  of  the  Beggar  captains  ever  enriched  himself  with 
the  booty  taken.  Whatever  was  obtained  was  shared 
alike  or  applied  to  the  needs  of  all.  Itjmist.not.be  for- 
gotten, either,  that  nearly  every  evil  feature  with  which 
they  are  depicted  was  drawn  by  enemies.  One  virtue, 
at  least,  they  did  not  lack,  absolute  and  utter  fearless- 
ness ;  they  trembled  before  neither  man  nor  devil. 
Their  hatred  to  the  Church  that  so  cruelly  oppressed 
and  so  ruthlessly  persecuted  them  was  indicated  by  the 
device  and  mottoes  they  wore  on  their  hats ;  on  the  one 
side  a  half  moon  with  the  legend,  "Rather  Turk  than 
Papist ;"  on  the  other  side,  "En  despit  de  la  mes," 
"  Down  with  the  mass."  Toward  the  priesthood  they 
were  animated  with  the  most  deadly  hatred.  They  had 
seen  this  shaven  and  cowled  fraternity  exult  with 
brutal  ferocity  in  the  agonies  of  their  burning  victims 
at  the  stake;  they  had  seen  them  gloating  over  the 
writhing  sufferers  while  extending  to  them  the  image 
of  the  divine  Sufferer  for  man.  When,  therefore,  any 
of  these  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Beggars  of  the  Sea 
it  was  but  natural  that  their  coarse  natures  should  lead 
them  to  treat  these  priests  rudely  and  even  brutally, 
and  that  they  should  lay  no  restraint  upon  their  de- 
sire for  vengeance.  And  yet  they  were  not  always  vio- 
lent. A  coarse  humor  is  discovered  at  times  in  theif 


THE   BEGGARS   OF   THE   SEA.  37 

treatment  of  priests  or  of  ecclesiastical  utensils.  Caro- 
lus,  a  bitter  enemy  of  all  that  was  called  patriot  or  Re- 
formed, tells  of  one  of  these  freebooters,  one  Fokke 
Abels,  a  Frisian,  "excelling,"  as  he  puts  it,  "the  Turks 
in  inhuman  fury,"  who  used  on  board  of  his  ship  no 
other  drinking  cups  than  the  sacred  chalices  taken 
from  the  churches,  and  who  had  nailed  a  very  costly 
monstrance  to  the  top  of  his  mast,  to  which  he  would 
point  the  priests  that  were  captured  by  him,  saying 
that  however  highly  they  might  honor  their  holy  of 
holies,  the  Beggars  esteemed  it  still  more  highly,  and, 
therefore,  they  had  elevated  it  on  the  highest  point  of 
their  vessel. 

These  Beggars  of  the  Sea,  however,  were  far  from 
being  mere  piratical  plunderers.  They  did,  indeed, 
often  plunder  monasteries  and  churches  and  held 
priests  for  ransom;  they  were  ever  eager  to  glut  their 
vengeance  on  all  that  were  Spanish  or  sided  with 
Spa.in.  To  them  all  was  hostile  ground  over- which  the 
Spanish  flag  floated;  the  faithful  having  been  either 
destroyed  or  banished,  all  that  were  left  to  pursue  their 
course  unmolested  were  from  that  very  fact  regarded 
as  adherents  of  Alva  and  Rome;  and  against  both  of 
these  the  Beggars  had  drawn  the  sword.  There  came 
a  time,  however,  when  vengeance  on  and  plundering  of 
enemies  was  not  their  only  aim.  Many  had  placed  be- 
fore themselves  a  far  nobler  object,  and  one  for  which 
they  were,  ultimately  employed  by  the  great  William. 
For  their  country  these  sought  deliverance  from  the 
oppjressor;  for  themselves,  the  unrestricted  profession 
of  the  Reformed  religion.  There  is  still  extant  the 
compact  drawn  up  by  some  of  their  leaders,  whose 

300627 


38  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

names  often  appear  in  the  accounts  of  their  daring  en- 
terprises, in  which  they  bind  themselves  to  stake  all 
for  the  destruction  and  annihilation  of  the  Duke  of 
Alva  and  his  bloody  minions ;  to  introduce  again  the 
true  Word  of  God  and  cause  it  to  be  proclaimed  every- 
where, and  to  recover  the  possession  and  enjoy- 
ment of  the  lands  and  liberties  of  their  fathers,  of 
which  they  had  been  so  cruelly  robbed.  Among  their 
number  there  were  also  not  a  few  lofty  and  noble  souls, 
and  some  whose  education  and  tastes  had  fitted  them 
for  a  far  different  life,  some  of  whom  were  capable  of 
expressing  themselves  in  not  inelegant  Latin  verse. 

The  vessels  of  these  Dutch  privateers  were  not  of 
such  size  or  character  as  would  promise  the  perform- 
ance of  great  deeds.  Some  of  them  were  fair-sized 
merchantmen,  taken  from  the  enemy  by  some  daring 
exploit,  or  purchased  with  what  money  a  few  of  the 
exiles  had  been  able  to  rescue  from  the  grasp  of  the  foe 
or  that  had  been  contributed  by  some  sympathizing 
friends.  Their  ships  were  equipped  with  a  few  can- 
non  and  otherwise  armed  and  manned  as  far  as  possi- 
ble for  privateering.  The  most,  however,  were  two- 
masted  fishing-smacks  or  schooners  of  from  40  to  240 
tons  burden,  such  as  were  used  on  the  North  Sea.  To 
these  were  later  added  a  number  of  caravels,  sloops, 
barges,  and  even  rowboats,  like  those  used  on  the  in- 
land waters.  Such  were  the  insignificant  vessels  with 
which  these  daring  rebels  harried  their  strong  and 
haughty  foe,  with  which  they  captured  his  cities  and 
defeated  his  fleets;  these  formed  the  nucleus  out  of 
which  grew  those  formidable  armaments  with  which 


THE   BEGGARS   OF   THE   SEA.  39 

Holland  later  subdued  nations  and  held  the  empire  of 
the  ocean. 

And,  whether  no  one  reflected  that  the  naval  power 
of  Spain  might  annihilate  them  in  an  instant,  whether 
they  too  confidently  supposed  that  they  could  always 
find  a  safe  retreat  from  pursuit  in  some  English, 
French,  or  other  foreign  port  not  Spanish;  whether 
they  relied  on  the  indolence  of  the  Spaniards  at  sea 
and  their  contempt  for  all  the  efforts  of  the  rebels,  the 
bold  Beggars  sallied  forth  from  almost  every  port  of 
the  northern  provinces,  traversing  the  rivers,  estuaries, 
and  the  open  sea  constantly  and  plundering  whatever 
ship  of  the  enemy  they  could  seize.  And  if  the  sea  af- 
forded no  spoil  or  means  of  subsistence  they  made  no 
conscience  of  seeking  these  along  the  coasts  or  in  the 
inland  districts.  The  inexplicable  indolence  of  Philip 
and  his  lieutenants  in  the  Netherlands,  so  far  as  any 
maritime  enterprise  was  concerned,  who  seemed 
scarcely  to  pay  any  attention  to  these  freebooters, 
caused  them  to  increase  most  rapidly  till  they  forced 
the  haughty  Castilian  to  recognize  and  dread  their 
prowess. 

The  narration  of  a  few  of  their  exploits  will  give  a 
sufficient  idea  of  the  service  rendered  by  these  Beggars 
of  the  Sea  to  the  nascent  Dutch  Republic,  and  with  it 
to  the  world.  The  most  important  of  these,  as  it  was 
that  which  gave  to  the  Dutch  patriots  the  first  secure 
footing  against  their  mighty  foe,  was  the  taking  of 
the  city  of  Briel,  on  April  I,  1572.  About  the  middle 
of  March  of  that  year  there  was  lying  at  Dover,  Eng- 
land, a  fleet  of  these  privateers,  under  the  joint  com- 
mand of  Lumey  and  Treslong,  having  as  captains  Van 


40  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

Haaren,  Worst,  and  others  whose  names  gained  re- 
nown in  the  great  struggle.  Suddenly  a  royal  order 
from  Queen  Elizabeth  forced  them  to  leave  this  port 
without  allowing  them  time  to  purchase  the  provisions 
and  ammunition  of  which  they  stood  in  direst  need. 
Pressed  by  imperative  necessity  they  entered  the  North 
Sea  in  search  of  a  haven.  One  of  the  captains,  Jacob 
Simonson  de  Ryk,  now  urged  the  commanders  to  at- 
tempt something  that  should  be  of  lasting  advantage 
to  the  fatherland.  And  he  was  not  alone  in  this ;  most 
of  his  fellow-commanders  and  even  many  among  the 
sailors  were  eager  to  strike  some  blow  that  the  foe 
should  feel  and  which  might  advance  the  common 
cause.  But  whither  should  these  outlawed  rovers  turn 
the  prow  to  this  end?  Some  were  for  attacking  Enk- 
huyzen,  on  the  Zuyder  Zee ;  others  to  make  an  attempt 
on  Texel.  A  higher  power  decided  for  them.  Soon 
after  leaving  the  English  coast  a  fleet  of  armed  Spanish 
merchantmen  hove  in  sight.  With  this  they  engaged 
in  fierce  battle,  Trie  result  of  which  was  the  capture 
from  the  enemy  of  a  richly  laden  ship,  in  which,  besides 
the  lading  of  spices,  they  found  two  chests  of  money. 
Shortly  thereafter  they  captured  another  large  Spanish 
vessel,  destined  like  the  former  for  Antwerp.  Both  of 
these  were  at  once  fitted  out  for  war,  while  their  lading 
was  distributed  over  the  fleet.  Now  the  wind  turned 
and  led  them  into  the  neighborhood  of  the  Meuse, 
which  river  they  determined  to  enter,  not  in  order  then 
to  make  an  attempt  on  any  city,  but  for  the  capture  of 
some  merchant  vessels  which  they  had  learned  were 
anchored  near  Briel.  Though  they  had  made  much 
booty  in  the  recent  captures,  this  had  not  lessened  the 


THE   BEGGARS  OF   THE   SEA.  41 

distress  prevailing  in  the  fleet;  the  spices  taken  were 
somewhat  too  hot  for  the  stomachs  even  of  the  Beg- 
gars, while  the  Spanish  doubloons  were  too  hard  for 
their  teeth  to  be  capable  of  being  used  as  food.  And 
the  scarcity  in  the  fleet  was  so  great  that  one  of  the 
two  vessels  composing  the  van  had  nothing  fit  to  eat 
on  board  but  part  of  a  cheese,  while  the  other  had  abso- 
lutely nothing.  It  became  imperative,  therefore,  to 
enter  some  port  to  revictual.  One  of  the  commanders, 
Treslong,  had  lived  in  Briel,  and  it  is  not  at  all  un- 
likely that  the  idea  of  seeking  to  supply  their  wants  by 
taking  that  city  originated  with  him.  The  merchant- 
men toward  which  the  Beggars  were  steering  fled  at 
sight  of  them  and  escaped  to  Rotterdam.  Meanwhile 
the  wind  had  changed  again,  blowing  now  strongly 
from  the  northwest,  thus  preventing  a  return  to  sea, 
There  thus  the  patriot  fleet  lay,  incapable  of  action, 
while  hunger  and  want  became  momentarily  more 
pressing.  In  addition  to  this  the  Spanish  commander, 
Bossu,  at  the  nearby  city  of  Utrecht,  had  been  apprised 
of  their  approach,  and  had  already  made  preparation 
for  their  capture  or  destruction.  With  the  enemy  thus 
in  front  of  them  and  the  North  Sea  in  their  rear,  to 
be  entered,  if  at  all,  with  a  contrary  wind,  and  with 
crews  weakened  by  hunger,  there  remained  but  one 
thing  to  be  attempted,  not  only  of  value  to  the  cause, 
but  for  their  own  relief :  Briel  must  be  taken. 

The  Beggar  fleet  consisted  of  about  twenty-six  ves- 
sels, carrying  a  force  of  possibly  1,200  men,  while  the 
city  toward  the  capture  of  which  they  were  about  to 
steer  was  a  strongly  fortified  town.  As  they  were 
about  to  hoist  sail  a  boat  carrying  some  passengers, 


42  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

and  rowed  by  John  Koppelstock,  came  into  view.  At 
sight  of  the  fleet  the  passengers  anxiously  asked  what 
ships  these  might  be.  "  The  Beggars  of  the  Sea,"  an- 
swered the  ferryman,  who  was  acquainted  with  their 
flag  and  may  have  had  some  inkling  of  their  designs. 
On  hearing  this  dreaded  name  the  passengers  begged 
to  be  rowed  back  to  their  place  of  departure,  which, 
being  done,  the  ferryman  hastened  to  the  fleet  and  in- 
quired for  his  townsman  Treslong.  The  latter  took 
Koppelstock  to  Lumey,  who  at  once  discovered  in  the 
boatman  the  man  that  could  help  them  to  get  into  the 
city.  With  Treslong's  signet  ring  as  his  letter  of  credit 
(there  was  no  time  for  writing  letters)  Koppelstock 
presented  himself  before  the  city  fathers  and  in  the 
name  of  the  Beggars  demanded  that  messengers  be 
sent  with  him  to  the  fleet  to  treat  with  Lumey  and 
Treslong  about  the  surrender  of  the  city,  saying  that 
they  would  have  nothing  to  fear,  as  the  fleet  had  come 
to  deliver  them  from  the  yoke  of  Alva  and  Spain. 
With  equal  boldness  he  asserted  that  the  fleet  carried 
a  force  of  5,000  men,  and  was  perfectly  able  to  capture 
the  town  or  lay  it  in  ashes.  After  some  hesitation  two 
men  were  found  willing  to  risk  themselves  among  the 
Beggars.  While  this  was  going  on,  however,  Lumey 
had  already  landed  with  some  of  his  impatient  men 
and  met  the  deputies  as  they  were  leaving  the  city. 
Humbly  these  listen  to  the  demand  for  the  town's  sur- 
render within  the  next  two  hours.  Meanwhile  more 
of  the  crews  had  landed,  and,  impatient  for  action, 
were  beginning  to  rush  with  flying  standards  toward 
the  town.  The  sight  of  this  and  the  short  lime  given 
for  deliberation  filled  the  inhabitants  with  dread  and, 


THE   BEGGARS  OF   THE  SEA.  43 

while  the  Beggars  rush  to  the  North  Gate,  the  citizens 
fled  through  the  South  Gate.  But  there  they  were  met 
by  Treslong  and  his  men  and  were  driven  back.  Fret- 
ting at  the  delay  at  the  North  Gate,  which  they  had  no 
cannon  to  batter  down,  the  Beggars  piled  kegs  of  pow- 
der and  other  combustibles  against  it,  poured  pitch  and 
tar  over  them,  and  set  fire  to  the  mass.  Others,  for 
whom  even  this  seemed  too  slow,  find  a  mast,  and,  not- 
withstanding the  flame  and  smoke,  succeed  in  battering 
down  part  of  the  gate.  Through  the  opening  thus 
made  they  rush  to  the  ramparts,  the  South  Gate,  too, 
is  opened  by  the  terrified  citizens,  and  from  both  sides 
the  bold  sea-rovers  stream  into  the  town.  Thus,  on  the 
evening  of  April  i,  1572,  between  eight  and  nine 
o'clock,  the  first  real  footing  was  obtained  by  the  re- 
volted Netherlands;  and  thus,  by  the  Beggars  of  the 
Sea,  was  the  first  stone  laid  on  which  was  to  rise  the 
noble  edifice  of  the  Dutch  Republic.  The  whole  num- 
ber engaged  in  the  capture  of  Briel  was  barely  250 
men;  nor  was  a  single  life  lost  on  either  side  in  the 
capture.  The  city  had  been  stormed  and  taken  with 
the  shedding  of  scarcely  a  drop  of  blood.  Nor  was 
any  of  the  private  citizens  harmed  in  person  or  prop- 
erty after  the  capture.  The  Burgomaster,  however, 
was  compelled  to  surrender  the  money  derived  from 
the  tax  on  wine,  and  the  city  treasurer  to  hand  over 
6,000  florins ;  but  these  moneys  were  part  of  the  treas- 
uries of  Alva's  government,  and,  therefore,  lawful 
booty.  With  the  dawn  of  the  next  morning  there  was 
a  general  rush  for  the  churches  and  monasteries, 
where  some  of  the  priests  suffered  the  vengeance 
sworn  by  the  Beggars  against  their  persecutors;  but 


44  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

the  attack  on  the  ecclesiastical  buildings  had  for  its 
main  object  the  procuring  of  clothing  for  the  almost 
naked  bodies  of  the  sailors.  Whenever  an  article  of 
dress  belonging  to  the  priests  or  monks  was  found  it 
was  instantly  made  to  cover  the  body  of  some  Beg- 
gar. Some  of  them  sent  by  Treslong  shortly  thereafter 
to  help  in  the  capture  of  Flushing  were  all  clad  in  the 
hooded  cloaks  of  monks.  They  must  have  cut  a  singu- 
lar figure,  those  brawny,  weather-beaten  sea-dogs,  in 
the  priestly  cowls  and  cassocks ! 

Briel  had  been  taken ;  but  could  the  Beggars  hold  it  ? 
Would  Bossu  leave  those  contemptible  buccaneers,  as 
he  regarded  them,  in  undisputed  possession  of  so  im- 
portant a  place?  His  troops  at  Utrecht  had  mutinied, 
but  order  and  discipline  were  restored,  and,  crossing 
the  Meuse  with  a  fleet,  the  Spaniards  landed  a  few 
miles  above  Briel.  Leaving  their  vessels  anchored  in  a 
small  estuary,  the  troops  disembarked  and  set  out  to 
recapture  the  city.  But  in  the  neighboring  orchards 
a  part  of  the  Beggars  were  lying  in  ambush.  As 
Bossu's  veterans  approached  they  were  suddenly  and 
fiercely  attacked.  For  a  time  the  issue  was  more  than 
doubtful,  for  the  handful  of  patriots  had  yet  to  be 
divided.  A  part  went  off  with  Treslong  with  the  in- 
tention of  burning  Bossu's  ships,  and  of  thus  cutting 
off  the  retreat  of  the  Spaniards.  While  these  were 
gone  the  few  remaining  Beggars  were  forced  to  give 
way,  though  only  foot  by  foot,  when  one  of  their  num- 
ber, the  town  carpenter,  formed  the  bold  design  of  cut- 
ting the  sluice  gates  of  the  dyke  that  kept  the  waters 
from  the  tract  of  land  on  which  the  fight  was  going  on. 
Taking  an  axe  between  his  teeth  he  swam  to  the  gates 


THE  BEGGARS  OF  THE  SEA.  45 

and,  amid  a  hail  of  shot,  hewed  them  in  pieces,  and 
returned  in  safety  to  his  comrades.    Then  the  waters, 
from  of  old  both  the  foe  and  the  friend  of  the  Dutch, 
came  pouring  over  the  flats  and  compelled  the  Span- 
iards to  seek  firmer  footing  on  the  dykes.     One  of 
these  dykes  led  to  the  South  Gate,  which  they  hoped 
to  take  by  surprise.    But  on  their  way  the  Spaniards 
beheld  the  smoke  of  their  burning  vessels,  while  they 
themselves  were  received  with  terrific  volleys   from 
the  gate.     Beaten  back  they  fled  toward  their  burn- 
ing ships,  but  as  they  turned  they  were  met  by  the 
foe  they  had  left  in  their  rear  and  were  either  impaled 
on  their  pikes  or  hurled  or  forced  to  leap  into  the 
billows.     Few  were  they  that  carried  to  Bossu  the 
story  of  their  unlooked-for  and  terrible  defeat.     So 
then  the  first  permanent  foothold  for  the  liberties  of 
Holland  had  been  won  and  kept.     The  Beggars  of  the  \ 
Sea  had  shown  that  with  united  effort  and  unswerv- 
ing fidelity  to  each  other  and  to  the  fatherland  they   i 
could  do  more  than  capture  merchantmen  or  plunder    : 
churches  and  villages.     Though  inexperienced  in  war-  / 
fare  on  land,  they  yet  had  defeated  Spanish  veterans,  I 
the  best  soldiers  of  Europe  at  that  time ;  they  had  per-  ) 
formed  deeds  which  inspired  courage  into  the  hearts 
and  strengthened  the  hands  of  their  compatriots,  and 
which  filled  these  with  a  determination  to  stand  im- 
movable in  the  cause  of  fatherland  and  liberty. 

In  the  same  week  that  Briel  was  taken  the  Beggars 
made  themselves  masters  of  Flushing,  a  much  stronger 
and  more  important  port  and  up  to  recent  date  called 
"the  key  of  Holland"  ;  and  this  was  immediately  follow- 
ed by  the  surrender  to  Prins  William  of  two  other  sea- 


46  NAVAL  HEROES  OF  HOLLAND. 

ports  in  the  province  of  Zeeland.  But  of  still  greater 
consequence  was  the  surrender,  on  May  2,  of  the  city 
of  Enkhuysen,  at  that  time  a  strong  seaport  and  the 
key  to  the  Zuyder  Zee.  This  was  followed  in  rapid 
succession  by  the  surrender  of  a  number  of  other 
cities,  so  that  in  a  few  months  William  saw  himself 
at  the  head  of  several  provinces  and  a  large  number 
of  cities  determined  to  force  both  Philip  and  Rome  to 
recognize  their  rights.  But  as  this  is  not  an  account 
of  the  struggles  of  the  Republic  as  a  whole,  but  simply 
of  the  Beggars  of  the  Sea,  a  few  more  of  the  latters' 
most  notable  exploits  must  conclude  this  chapter. 

Three  weeks  after  the  capture  of  Briel,  on  May  22, 
a  battle  took  place  on  the  waters  of  Zeeland  between 
a  Spanish  fleet  and  that  of  the  Beggars  in  which  the 
Spaniards  were  taught  that,  on  the  water  at  least, 
the  motto  of  the  Dutch  patriots  was  victory  or  death. 
An  act  of  splendid  heroism  marked  this  engagement. 
One  patriot  ship,  that  of  Sebastian  de  Lange,  got 
aground  and  was  at  once  attacked  by  four  of  the  en- 
emy's vessels.  As  the  Spaniards  came  alongside  of 
De  Lange  they  pored  in  their  men  from  every  side. 
But  to  the  amazement  of  friend  and  foe  De  Lange 
maintained  the  unequal  contest  till,  seeing  that  his 
friends  could  not  come  to  his  assistance  on  account 
of  the  shallows  and  that  his  few  remaining  men  were 
utterly  exhausted,  at  the  very  moment  that  the  enemy 
sent  up  exultant  shouts  of  victory,  he  set  fire  to  the 
powder  magazine,  sending  both  his  own  and  the  four 
hostile  vessels  to  destruction,  the  first  act  of  the  kind 
on  record,  but  one  often  followed  thereafter  by  Dutch 


THE  BEGGARS  OF  THE  SEA.  47 

naval  heroes.     This  decided  the  battle  and  gave  the 
victory  to  the  Beggars. 

About  three  weeks  after  this,  on  the  loth  of  June, 
the  fleet  of  Don  Juan  de  la  Cerda,  Duke  of  Medina 
Celi,  who  had  been  appointed  Regent  in  the  place  of 
Alva,  came  sailing  up  the  Scheldt.  It  consisted  of 
50  vessels,  and  had  on  board,  besides  sailors,  2,000 
Spanish  troops  commanded  by  Romero.  Unaware 
that  Flushing  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Beggars  of  the 
Sea,  and  cherishing  an  utter  contempt  for  these  priva- 
teers, Don  Juan  sailed  on  toward  Antwerp.  But  he 
soon  found  that  the  hand  of  revolt  had  become  as 
strong  as  it  was  bold.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Blank- 
enberg  his  fleet  was  attacked  by  twelve  small  vessels 
under  the  able  and  daring  Worst  and  the  brothers 
Joost  and  John  de  Moor,  who  took  hold  of  the  Span- 
iards with  such  fury  that  they  drove  them  pell-mell 
before  them.  The  Duke  and  Romero,  favored  by  the 
tide,  found  refuge  at  Sluis.  Another  part  of  the 
Spanish  fleet  got  aground  on  a  sand  bank ;  of  this  di- 
vision a  number  were  either  taken  or  burned,  while 
another  part,  under  Ulloa,  was  also  put  to  flight.  This 
victory  furnished  the  revolted  provinces  with  the 
sinews  of  war  of  which  they  stood  so  sorely  in  need. 
In  one  of  the  captured  vessels  De  Moor's  men  found 
30  bags  of  silver  coin,  all  of  which  were  handed  over 
to  William's  representative,  while  the  entire  booty 
amounted  to  500,000  florins.  The  captured  vessels 
were  added  to  the  fleet  of  the  Beggars,  thus  making 
them  still  more  formidable.  A  victory  this  which 
made  the  Spaniards  ever  after  dread  the  name  of 
Zeelander,  for  it  was  the  Beggars  of  the  Sea  from 


48  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

that  province  mainly  who  had  performed  this  mag- 
nificent exploit,  as  they  were  afterwards  chiefly 
instrumental  in  the  deliverance  of  Leyden.  The  Zee- 
land  Beggars  had,  indeed,  generally  been  more  suc- 
cessful than  those  of  Holland  and  Friesland  and  had, 
in  1573,  defeated  two  fleets  sent  by  Avila  for  the  re- 
lief of  Middelburg,  besieged  by  the  troops  of  Prince 
William  and  bravely  defended  by  Mondragon.  This 
success  of  their  compatriots  aroused  the  emulation  of 
the  Frisians,  and  an  opportunity  was  speedily  granted 
them  to  show  that  they  were  no  less  brave  and  dar- 
ing. Bossu,  the  Spanish  commander,  had  prepared 
a  fleet  of  30  vessels  and  manned  them  with  1,300 
soldiers  in  addition  to  the  sailors.  This  fleet,  under 
his  own  command,  sailed  from  Amsterdam  on  Oc- 
tober 3,  1573,  to  find  the  Frisian  fleet  under  Cornelius 
Dirksson  on  the  Zuyder  Zee.  Bossu,  who  carried  long- 
range  cannon,  did  his  best  to  damage  his  enemy  from 
a  distance;  Dirksson,  on  the  other  hand,  only  ma- 
noeuvred to  come  to  close  quarters.  Thus  they  turned 
about  each  other  for  several  days  until,  on  October  n, 
the  real  fight  began.  Dirksson  succeeded  in  clamp- 
ing the  Spanish  admiral's  ship  on  board,  which  bore 
that  hated  name  "The  Inquisition,"  in  which  he  was 
assisted  by  two  other  vessels.  Fiercely  fighting  these 
four  floated  down  stream,  when  Bossu's  vessel  got 
aground.  Meanwhile  the  Frisians  had  already  cap- 
tured six  of  the  enemy's  ships  and  the  Spanish  vice- 
admiral  had  taken  flight.  Bossu,  however,  con- 
tinued to  defend  himself  with  right  knightly  courage 
and  did  not  leave  his  post  at  the  mainmast  from  which 
he  calmly  gave  his  orders.  The  combat  raged  through- 


THE  BEGGARS  OF  THE  SEA.  49 

out  the  long  night.  When  day  broke,  John  Haring, 
that  Dutch  Horatius,  who  early  that  same  year  on 
the  Diemer  Dyk  had  single  handed  kept  at  bay  a 
thousand  Spaniards,  climbing  up  the  mainmast  of  The 
Inquisition,  hauled  down  the  admiral's  flag;  but  as 
he  was  coming  down  with  it  a  shot  fired  through  a 
hatchway  pierced  his  heart,  rendering  his  splendid 
heroism  here  in  vain.  Early  in  the  afternoon,  after  a 
continuous  fight  of  twenty-eight  hours,  Bossu  sur- 
rendered with  300  of  his  men,  while  his  ships  were 
either  destroyed,  taken,  or  scattered,  and  at  least  three- 
fourths  of  his  crew  were  either  killed  or  disabled. 

When  Alva  was  succeeded  by  Requescens  the  tatter's 
first  move  was  another  attempt  for  the  relief  of  Mid- 
delburg,  which  the  Zeelanders  had  now  been  besieging 
for  a  year  and  a  half.  Requescens,  who  had  seen  ser- 
vice on  board  the  royal  galleys  and  had  thus  better 
knowledge  of  seamanship  than  Alva,  and  who  partly 
for  this  reason  had  been  chosen  to  succeed  the  latter, 
seemed  eager  to  prove  the  justice  of  the  choice.  To 
this  end  he  ordered  a  mighty  fleet,  which  Alva  had 
before  collected  at  Antwerp,  to  sail  from  that  port  to 
the  assistance  of  Mondragon  at  Middelburg.  Thirty 
large  ships,  under  command  of  d'Avila,  were  to  sail 
down  the  Scheldt  to  the  island  of  Walcheren,  there  to 
unite  with  seventy  smaller  vessels  which  were  to  come 
from  Bergen-op-Zoom  under  command  of  the  Lord 
of  Glimes.  Instantly  Prince  William  ordered  all  the 
vessels  of  the  Beggars  of  the  Sea  to  collect  at  Flush- 
ing. Near  Reimerswaal  this  fleet,  sailing  with  a  north- 
west wind,  met  that  of  Glimes.  Romero,  who  was  one 
of  the  commanders,  wanted  Glimes  to  attack  at  once  in 


50  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

order  to  give  d'Avila  an  opportunity  to  go  on  with 
his  fleet  to  Middelburg;  but  the  latter  let  the  chance 
pass  and  anchored  his  fleet  at  Breskens,  opposite 
Flushing.  Glimes  had  rightly  objected  to  Romero 
that  it  was  contrary  to  all  naval  warfare  to  begin  a 
fight  when  it  would  be  necessary,  as  was  the  case 
then,  constantly  to  tack,  and  when  the  tide  was  down ; 
but  when  it  seemed  that  Romero  ascribed  his  reluc- 
tance to  fear  he  gave  in,  contenting  himself  with  the 
remark  that  the  result  would  show  who  was  right. 
The  battle  began  on  the  2Qth  of  January,  1574.  The 
Beggars'  fleet  was  commanded  by  Boisot.  There  had 
been  a  dispute  on  board  his  flagship  whether  the  men 
should  be  kept  on  deck  ready  at  the  first  chance  to 
board  the  enemy,  or  down  below  till  after  the  first 
broadside.  The  first  plan  was  followed  at  the  in- 
sistence of  the  battle-hungry  Zeelanders,  with  the  al- 
most disastrous  result  that  Glimes,  seeing  so  many 
men  crowding  Boisot's  deck,  turned  sooner  than  the 
latter  had  expected  and  poured  in  a  murderous  fire  by 
which  many  were  killed  and  Boisot  himself  lost  an 
eye.  The  Spaniards  took  advantage  of  the  momen- 
tary confusion  and  jumped  on  board;  but  here  they 
were  met  with  such  desperate  resistance  that  they  had 
to  abandon  the  hope  of  capturing  the  Dutch  admiral. 
Now  throughout  the  fleets  the  fight  was  carried  on 
hand  to  hand  and  foot  to  foot.  The  heroic  deed  of 
John  Haring  on  the  flagship  of  Bossu  a  few  months 
before  was  followed  here  with  better  success  by  a 
Jasper  Leensson,  who  tore  the  flag  from  the  Spanish 
admiral's  maintop  and  brought  it  on  board  of  Boisot's 
ship.  Hereupon  Romero  hoisted  the  Admiral's  flag 


THE   BEGGARS   OF   THE   SEA.  51 

on  his  own  vessel  and  entered  Boisot's  on  the  other 
side,  but  was  driven  back  with  fearful  loss.  Romero 
himself  only  found  safety  by  swimming  to  the  neigh- 
boring island  of  Tholen,  where  he  was  received  by 
Requescens,  who  had  been  an  impatient  witness  of  the 
defeat  of  his  mighty  fleet.  Glimes's  ship  stranded, 
and  he  himself,  after  a  stubborn  defense,  was  slain  and 
his  ship  given  to  the  flames.  Eight  other  vessels  were 
taken  by  the  Beggars,  every  soul  on  them  thrown  over- 
board, and  the  ships  with  their  armaments  carried 
to  Flushing.  D'Avila  succeeded  in  getting  back  to 
Antwerp  with  the  remnant  of  his  fleet,  while  Mon- 
dragon,  giving  up  all  hope  of  relief,  surrendered  Mid- 
delburg  to  the  patriot  troops. 

Such  were  some  of  the  exploits  of  these  daring 
Dutch  privateers  and  patriots  of  the  i6th  century.  To 
them  as  the  source  must  be  traced  the  energy,  enter- 
prise, and  daring  of  this  geographically  so  insignifi- 
cant Holland,  qualities  that  won  for  it  so  many  con- 
quests in  Asia,  Africa,  and  America ;  from  them  sprang 
the  great  explorers  Barends  and  He«mskerk,  Tas- 
man,  and  Van  Diemen,  the  Tromps,  Evertsens,  and 
De  Ruyters,  unsurpassed  sailors  and  naval  heroes; 
from  some  of  them  descended  the  conquerors  of  Java 
and  Sumatra,  of  Guinea  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
of  the  land  of  the  Amazon  and  of  Brazil.  To  them 
must  be  traced  the  impulse  that  led  to  the  founding  of 
the  East  and  West  India  Companies,  which  poured 
such  abundant  wealth  into  the  treasuries  of  Holland 
and  into  the  coffers  of  its  burghers.  To  them,  under 
God,  it  was  largely  owing  that  the  Seven  United  Prov- 
inces, the  Dutch  Republic,  became  at  one  time  the 


52  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

equal  of  the  mightiest  nations  on  the  globe.  But 
higher  praise  than  even  this  must  be  given  them.  Had 
the  Netherlands  failed  at  that  time  in  their  struggle 
against  Spain,  Protestantism  might  have  been  utterly 
crushed  out,  and  but  for  the  Beggars  of  the  Sea  such 
failure  would  have  been  almost  certainly  inevitable. 
But  as  the  glorious  issue  of  the  mighty  struggle  of 
Holland  with  Spain  infused  the  spirit  of  liberty  and 
raised  the  standard  of  manhood  everywhere,  the  re- 
sults of  which  have  not  even  yet  reached  their  highest 
point,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  these,  too,  the 
rights  and  liberties  enjoyed  by  us  here  and  now,  are 
the  outcome  of  the  heroic  deeds  of  these  Beggars  of 
the  Sea. 


JACOB   VAN   HEEMSKERK. 

BIRTH    AND    TRAINING EXPEDITIONS   IN  SEARCH  OF  NORTH 

EAST  PASSAGE  TO  INDIA WINTERING  ON  NOVA  ZEMBLA — 

VICTORIOUS  BATTLE  IN  THE  EAST  INDIES — HEROISM  OF 
REINIER  CLAESSENS— UNSELFISH  PATRIOTISM— EXPEDITION 
TO  GIBRALTAR — DESTRUCTION  OF  SPANISH  FLEET WON- 
DERFUL PRESERVATION  OF  CAPTIVES DEATH  OF  HEEM- 
SKERK— FINDING  OF  CRUEL  EDICT  OF  PHILIP  I. — INFLU- 
ENCE OF  THE  VICTORY. 

Amsterdam,  the  Venice  of  the  North,  has  many  a 
claim  to  be  reckoned  among  the  cities  of  historic  re- 
nown, not  the  least  of  which  is  that  of  its  being  the 
birthplace  of  one  of  the  greatest  heroes  of  the  eighty 
years'  war  against  Spain,  Jacob  van  Heemskerk.  Un- 
like most  of  the  great  sea  captains  of  the  Holland  of 
that  day,  he  belonged  to  a  family  of  wealth  and  posi- 
tion. The  name  is  found  as  early  as  1220,  and  in 
1436  one  of  his  ancestors  was  knighted  by  Joanna  of 
Bavaria,  at  that  time  regentess  of  the  Netherlands. 
Even  before  the  government  of  the  Austrian  Counts 
the  Lords  of  Heemskerk  ;ettled  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Haarlem,  where  their  ancestral  house  is  said  still  to 
be  standing,  bearing  the  name  of  Marquette.  Other 
members  of  the  family,  more  inclined  to  a  mercantile 
life,  settled  in  Amsterdam,  where  many  of  them  be- 
came members  of  the  city  government  and  sought  by 
their  wealth  to  extend  the  commerce  and  advance  the 
welfare  of  the  fatherland.  Here,  where  his  father  was 


54  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

one  of  the  merchant  princes,  Jacob  van  Heemskerk 
was  born  on  March  12  of  the  memorable  year  1567, 
the  year  in  which  the  Duke  of  Alva  was  sent  by 
Philip  the  Second  of  Spain  with  an  army  of  Spanish 
veterans  to  root  out  Protestantism  and  to  completely 
crush  the  spirit  of  liberty  in  the  Netherlands.  Im- 
mediately upon  his  arrival  in  the  ill-fated  country 
Alva  began  a  course  of  such  relentless  and  bloody 
persecution  as  no  people  ever  suffered  before  or  since, 
and  which  lasted  for  six  long  years.  But  even  his 
strong  and  merciless  rule  proved  utterly  incapable  of 
either  destroying  the  spirit  of  liberty  and  patriotism 
in  the  people  of  the  Netherlands  or  of  daunting  their 
courage,  so  that  at  the  end  of  the  six  years  he  re- 
turned to  Spain  utterly  baffled  and  defeated,  his  great 
military  fame  almost  totally  eclipsed,  and  bearing  with 
him  the  name  of  the  bloody  Duke,  a  name  to  be  for- 
ever execrated,  like  that  of  the  pitiless  Torquemada  or 
the  relentless  Jeffreys. 

The  boy  Van  Heemskerk  grew  up  thus  amid  scenes 
of  persecution  and  suffering,  not  a  day  passing  in 
which  he  might  not  hear  some  tale  of  cruel  outrage 
committed  by  the  oppressors  of  his  countrymen  or  of 
the  dauntless  heroism  of  the  oppressed. 

The  training  given  him  was  intended  to  fit  him 
thoroughly  for  some  position  in  his  father's  counting- 
house  and  so  that  ultimately  he  might  be  placed  at 
the  head  of  all  the  business  of  the  concern.  But,  like 
so  many  others  of  his  young  countrymen,  the  lad  had 
heard  the  siren  voice  of  the  sea,  which  made  him 
impatient  of  the  humdrum  life  of  an  office.  Many  a 
time,  as  he  listened  to  the  stirring  stories  of  adventure 


JACOB  VAN   I1EEMSKERK.  55 

by  sea  or  in  far-distant  lands  told  by  the  captains  or 
crews  of  his  father's  vessels,  or  to  the  still  more  ex- 
citing stories  of  reckless  daring  and  heroism  told  by 
the  Beggars  of  the  Sea,  his  young  eye  would  glisten 
and  his  heart  beat  with  the  eager  desire  to  imitate 
those  bold  rovers  of  the  deep  and  that  he,  too,  might 
do  something  of  moment  in  the  great  struggle.  But 
he  grew  up  to  young  manhood  without  having  his 
earnest  longing  gratified.  When  he  had  become  of 
age,  however,  his  father  seemed  willing  that  he  should 
accompany  some  vessel  on  a  voyage  to  the  East.  But 
in  those  days  of  stress  and  trouble  in  the  Netherlands 
it  was  no  easy  matter  to  send  out  ships  to  the  East 
or  West  Indies  to  fetch  thence  the  rich  and  varied 
products  of  those  regions,  or  even  to  trade  with  the 
countries  along  the  Baltic.  The  waters  of  the  latter 
and  of  the  North  Sea  were  fairly  alive  with  privateers 
lying  in  wait  particularly  for  Dutch  merchantmen,  so 
that  if  their  vessels  would  traverse  those  seas  with  any 
hope  of  safety  they  were  compelled  to  be  armed  like 
men-of-war  and  even  then  to  be  combined  into  fleets. 
But,  besides  the  fact  that  the  arming  and  equipping  of 
such  ships  for  warlike  defense  entailed  very  great  ex- 
pense, their  combination  into  a  fleet  was  very  often 
impracticable  both  because  of  the  want  of  unanimity 
among  the  owners  and  of  their  often  widely  varying 
interests.  The  voyage  to  China  and  the  East  was 
accompanied  with  still  greater  danger  to  the  Dutch 
vessels  than  to  the  ports  of  the  Baltic,  for  they 
could  not  reach  those  latitudes  except  by  passing  the 
coasts  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  where  the  great  Span- 
ish galleons  were  constantly  on  the  watch  to  attack 


56  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

and  capture  them  and  either  to  murder  their  crews 
in  cold  blood  or  condemn  them  to  the  worse  fate  of 
the  galleys.  Again  and  again,  instead  of  richly  laden 
craft  returning  safely  to  port,  the  merchants  of  Hol- 
land had  the  bitter  experience  of  learning  of  the  cap- 
ture of  their  ships  and  the  murder  or  enslavement  of 
their  crews  by  the  hated  Spaniards.  Many  of  them, 
therefore,  however  eager  for  gain,  hesitated  long  be- 
fore risking  money  in  the  hazardous  venture  of  send- 
ing out  any  ships  whether  east  or  west,  north  or 
south. 

In  the  discussions  to  which  this  experience  gave  rise 
among  the  merchants  the  question  had  often  been  asked 
whether  a  passage  to  the  East  Indies  and  China  might 
not  be  found  by  some  other  route  than  that  leading 
past  the  coasts  of  Spain.  And  this  question  was  con- 
stantly before  the  mind  of  young  Heemskerk,  so  that 
the  more  he  pondered  it  the  more  he  became  possessed 
with  the  idea  that  somewhere  along  the  northern  coast 
of  Europe  a  passage  might  be  found  that  would  lead 
east  and  south,  and  by  which  the  lands  of  the  eastern 
continent  might  be  reached  without  the  hazard  to 
which  the  customary  route  was  exposed.  There  were 
but  few  of  his  countrymen  who  shared  this  belief, 
however,  the  larger  number  considering  the  finding  of 
such  a  passage  utterly  beyond  the  range  of  probability. 
No  one,  they  said,  had  ever  been  able  to  get  farther 
than  Greenland  and  to  the  hither  edge  of  the  sea  of 
perpetual  ice.  Captain  William  Barendsz,  indeed,  had 
made  the  voyage  thither  twice  at  a  cost  of  four  hun- 
dred thousand  florins,  but  only  to  be  turned  back  by 
the  impenetrable  barrier  of  the  frozen  sea.  Why  then 


JACOB  VAN  HEEMSKERK.  57 

make  another  attempt  equally  expensive  and  full  of 
peril  and  likely  to  be  as  unsuccessful  as  the  other  two? 
But  Heemskerk  had  talked  with  Barendsz  and  found 
him,  notwithstanding  his  former  failures,  as  eager  as 
ever  to  go  in  quest  of  the  coveted  northeast  passage. 
With  his  aid  Heemskerk  met  every  objection  and 
finally  succeeded  in  winning  over  to  his  views  sev- 
eral merchants  and  in  inducing  them  to  fit  out  an- 
other expedition  to  search  for  the  new  route  to  China. 
One  argument  he  used  in  his  plea  weighed  more  with 
his  cautious  townsmen  than  any  other,  viz.,  how  con- 
founded Spain  and  its  king  would  be  if  once  the  rich 
products  of  the  East  were  brought  to  market  in  Am- 
sterdam without  the  possibility  of  Spanish  interfer- 
ence. 

With  the  money  contributed  by  the  merchants  of  his 
native  city,  in  which  his  own  family  bore  no  small 
share,  he  fitted  out  and  equipped  a  fleet  of  seven  ves- 
sels. These  were  altogether  too  insignificant,  as  it 
would  now  appear,  for  a  voyage  of  discovery  in  the 
regions  of  eternal  ice,  the  largest  being  nothing  more 
than  a  cutter  of  one  hundred  tons.  When  the  size  of 
the  vessels  and  their  destination  are  taken  into  con- 
sideration, the  venture  seems  even  bolder  than  that  of 
Columbus  and  his  three  caravels.  Though  small  they 
were  thoroughly  fitted  out  and  provisioned,  besides 
being  armed  for  defense  against  possible  attacks  by 
privateers  while  crossing  the  North  Sea. 

The  little  fleet  sailed  from  Texel  July  2,  1595.  Wil- 
liam Barendsz  was  in  chief  command,  Heemskerk  be- 
ing captain  of  the  Greyhound.  He  was  now  in  his 
twenty-ninth  year,  a  man  full  of  courage  and  with  an 


58  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

unswerving  reliance  upon  God.  Seventeen  days  af- 
ter they  started  they  reached  the  island  of  Waigatz, 
where  they  hoped  to  find  the  desired  passage  that 
should  carry  them  on  eastward  till  China  and  the  other 
lands  of  the  East  were  reached.  But  instead  of  open 
water  they  found  nothing  but  ice,  sometimes  stretch- 
ing in  unbroken  fields  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 
then  again  in  mountainous  masses  of  varied  form  that 
came  floating  towards  them  threatening  ruin  and  de- 
struction. To  add  to  their  peril  a  thick  fog  arose  that 
became  daily  more  and  more  dense,  till  it  was  impossi- 
ble at  times  to  distinguish  one  another  on  the  decks 
of  even  their  small  vessels.  At  other  times  the  ice 
would  pack  itself  so  tightly  about  them  that  the  men 
were  compelled  to  ply  their  axes  constantly  to  keep 
the  ships  from  being  crushed.  Once,  as  the  fog  lifted, 
one  of  the  men  on  the  lookout  reported  open  water; 
but  it  was  so  far  off  that  they  could  not  reach  it 
through  the  surrounding  masses  of  ice,  while  even  that 
open  sea  seemed  also  soon  to  be  covered  with  one 
continuous  floe.  A  more  cheering  discovery  was  made 
one  day  when  the  lookout  reported  that  he  saw  land 
with  people  on  it.  This,  after  great  difficulty,  they 
succeeded  in  reaching,  and  was  doubtless  the  lower 
part  of  Greenland.  Heemskerk  and  Barendsz  with 
a  few  men  went  on  shore,  and  having  pacified  the  na- 
tives, who  at  first  fled  at  the  approach  of  the  white 
men,  and  won  their  good  will  by  the  offer  of  some 
trinkets  and  food,  they  learned  from  them  by  means 
of  signs  that  if  they  would  sail  farther  north  they 
would  find  an  open  sea;  at  least  that  was  what  the 
Hollanders  understood  them  to  mean.  The  sailors 


JACOB  VAN  HEEMSKERK.  59 

who  had  come  ashore  had  meanwhile  discovered  what 
seemed  to  them  veritable  mountains  of  diamonds,  and 
they  were  so  importunate  in  their  request  to  be  allowed 
to  go  ashore  and  gather  the  treasure  that  leave  was 
at  last  given  them,  though  their  commanders  felt  quite 
sure  that  they  were  going  on  a  wild  goose  chase.  They 
had  no  weapons  but  axes,  and  as  they  were  busy 
breaking  off  the  beautiful  shining  crystals  that  fairly 
covered  the  rocks  they  were  suddenly  attacked  by 
some  white  bears  which  killed  and  dragged  off  two 
of  their  number  while  the  rest  in  all  haste  fled  to  the 
ships.  Obtaining  firearms  here  they  returned  to 
avenge  their  comrades,  but  only  succeeded  in  killing 
one  bear,  which  they  skinned  and  cut  up,  using  what 
was  eatable  of  him  as  a  not  unacceptable  addition  to 
their  common  bill  of  fare.  All  desire  on  the  part  of 
the  sailors  for  gathering  any  more  of  the  supposed 
diamonds,  however,  was  gone,  and,  worse,  they  be- 
came mutinous  and  utterly  refused  to  go  farther.  As 
they  were  seconded  in  this  by  several  officers  of  the 
different  vessels,  no  amount  of  persuasion  and  no  ex- 
ercise of  authority  had  any  effect  on  the  men;  they 
had  had  all  the  experience  of  the  icy  sea  they  wanted, 
and  Barendsz  and  Heemskerk  were  compelled  to  re- 
turn, bringing  home  nothing  but  the  one  bearskin  and 
a  few  specimens  of  rock-crystal,  the  beggarly  result 
of  the  costly  expedition. 

Heemskerk's  disappointment  at  this  failure,  great 
as  it  was,  neither  discouraged  him  nor  moved  him 
from  his  purpose.  He  still  maintained  that  there 
must  be  a  northeast  passage  to  the  eastern  continent. 
Had  he  lived  in  our  day  he  would  have  been  able  to 


60  NAVAL  HEROES  OF  HOLLAND. 

sustain  his  opinion  with  much  stronger  arguments 
than  those  drawn  from  the  geographical  knowledge  of 
his  own  day.  He  did  not  base  his  belief  upon  his  own 
geographical  researches,  however,  but  also  upon  what 
he  had  learned  in  the  preceding  voyage  from  the 
Samoyedes  of  Greenland.  He  was  determined  not  to 
give  up  until  it  should  be  demonstrated  beyond  a  doubt 
that  success  was  impossible.  Again,  therefore,  he 
went  from  one  to  another,  sought  out  every  personage 
of  influence,  trying  to  imbue  his  fellow-townsmen  with 
his  own  convictions  and  to  gain  them  over  to  the  fit- 
ting out  of  another  expedition.  But  if  this  were  dif- 
ficult at  his  first  undertaking,  now  that  he  had  met 
with  such  apparently  signal  failure  nearly  every  ear 
was  closed  to  him.  All  pointed  contemptuously  to 
the  musty  bearskin  and  the  beggarly  crystals  as  all 
that  he  could  show  as  the  result  of  his  first  voyage. 
But  Heemskerk  persisted,  and,  going  higher,  at  last 
succeeded  by  his  eloquence  and  arguments  in  induc- 
ing the  States  General  to  offer  a  premium  of  24,000 
florins  to  any  one  who  should  discover  a  passage  by 
way  of  the  north  to  China.  This  was  effective.  Am- 
bitious enterprise  was  awakened,  and  as  there  were 
plenty  of  merchants  in  Amsterdam  eager  to  extend 
their  commerce  at  less  hazard  than  that  incurred  by 
the  usual  route-,  a  sufficient  sum  was  collected  to  pre- 
pare two  vessels  fully  equipped  and  provided  in  every 
way  with  all  that  was  then  known  to  be  needed  to 
spend  the  winter  amid  the  northern  ice,  if  that  should 
be  necessary.  The  two  ships  were  commanded  re- 
spectively by  William  Barendsz  and  Cornelius  Ryp, 


JACOB  VAN  HEEMSKERK.  6 1 

while  Heemskerk  was  in  charge  of  the  whole  expedi- 
tion. 

The  present  voyage  was  begun  on  May  10,  1596,  but 
even  before  the  end  of  the  month  the  battle  with  the 
ice  already  began.  Ryp  soon  became  discouraged  at 
the  apparently  hopeless  attempt  and,  turning  back,  left 
Heemskerk  and  Barendsz  to  find  the  passage  to  China 
alone.  The  crew  of  their  own  vessel  were  stimulated 
to  persevere  by  the  assurance  that  if  they  would 
abide  by  the  ship  they  would  surely  succeed  in  reach- 
ing the  East,  and  theirs  would  be  the  honor  of  being 
the  first  to  open  the  northeast  passage  to  the  com- 
merce of  Holland  and  the  world.  But  once  more 
Heemskerk  was  to  be  disappointed.  For  three  long 
months  they  drifted  rather  than  sailed  about  the  Arc- 
tic Ocean  without  finding  the  open  water  they  were 
seeking  so  eagerly.  In  whatever  direction  they 
steered,  everywhere  they  were  checked  by  the  ice, 
which  day  by  day  became  heavier,  till  at  last  it  was 
utterly  impossible  to  proceed.  The  ship  seemed  as 
if  riveted  to  the  solid  ice,  and  nothing  remained  but 
to  spend  the  winter  in  those  dreary  regions.  They 
had  been  carried  to  the  northern  coast  of  Nova  Zem- 
bla.  Not  only  were  they  hemmed  in  by  the  ice,  which 
frequently  pressed  with  such  force  against  the  ship 
that  her  very  sides  cracked,  but  once  the  upper  part  of 
a  great  berg  broke  off  so  near  them  as  to  threaten  to 
crush  the  vessel.  The  terrible  din  made  by  the  ava- 
lanche of  ice  caused  the  sailors  to  imagine  that  the 
world  was  coming  to  an  end.  Nothing  now  could 
prevail  upon  the  crew  to  remain  on  board.  Heems- 
kerk therefore  made  them  build  a  substantial  hut  on 


62  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

the  barren  island,  where,  at  least,  they  would  be  safer 
than  in  their  frail  vessel. 

They  made  the  hut  as  solid  and  tight  as  possible, 
every  cranny  and  crevice  being  stopped  and  the  whole 
covered  inside  with  sailcloth.  The  roof  was  made 
strong  and  sloping  so  as  to  be  able  to  bear  the  great 
weight  of  snow  that  was  likely  to  fall,  and  on  its  top 
an  open  cask  was  securely  fixed  to  serve  at  once  as 
chimney  and  airshaft.  Along  the  inner  sides  of  the 
hut  they  built  sixteen  bunks,  rising  one  above  an- 
other, after  the  manner  of  the  berths  on  board  the 
ship.  As  the  days  shortened  the  cold  increased  in  in- 
tensity. The  clothing  that  had  been  brought  from 
Holland,  although  much  heavier  than  that  usually 
worn  in  their  part  of  Europe,  was  utterly  inadequate 
to  protect  them  against  the  severe  temperature  they 
now  had  to  endure,  so  that  they  were  more  than  glad 
when  they  had  shot  some  polar  bears  whose  pelts 
served  them  for  clothing  by  day  and  for  sleeping  bags 
at  night. 

Though  those  days  were  wearisome  enough  to  those 
hapless  Hollanders,  they  were  not  spent  in  idle  mur- 
muring and  complaining.  As  often  as  the  weather 
permitted  they  went  out  to  hunt  the  Arctic  fox  and  the 
white  bear,  with  the  latter  of  which  they  more  than 
once  had  some  dangerous  encounters,  but  whose  meat, 
cooked  in  one  form  or  another,  proved  a  most  accepta- 
ble substitute  for  the  salt  junk  that  was  frozen  hard 
in  the  barrels.  The  melted  grease  served  them  in- 
stead of  tallow  for  the  manufacture  of  candles.  By 
the  light  of  these  they  would  sit  around  the  fire  either 
repeating  tales  of  the  sea  or  of  the  sufferings  of  them- 


JACOB  VAN  HEEMSKERK.  6j 

selves  or  their  families  from  their  bitter  persecutors,  or 
reading  and  discussing  some  portion  of  the  Bible  whose 
words  gave  them  solace  and  hope. 

With  the  4th  of  November  the  sun,  whose  visits 
had  daily  become  shorter  and  shorter,  entirely  ceased 
to  appear,  and  now  came  the  darkness  of  the  long  un- 
broken winter  night.  And  yet  they  lost  neither  hope 
nor  courage.  Heemskerk  diverted  his  men  in  one 
way  or  other,  either  by  keeping  their  minds  occupied 
in  some  instructive  way  or  their  hands  so  busy  as  to 
leave  them  no  time  to  brood  over  their  condition. 
When  Christmas  and  New  Year  came,  they  did  not 
forget  the  customs  of  their  fatherland,  but  celebrated 
these  feasts  with  all  the  zest  possible  to  men  in  their 
condition.  Twelfth  Night,  or  the  Feast  of  the  Epiph- 
any, called  by  the  Dutch  the  Feast  of  the  Three  Kings, 
was  made  a  day  of  special  hilarity.  On  this  occasion 
they  baked  a  cake  in  which  a  bean  had  been  hidden, 
according  to  the  national  custom,  and  he  who  got  the 
piece  containing  the  bean  was  made  king  for  the  day. 
They  even  tried  to  forget  their  troubles  on  that  day 
by  engaging  in  a  dance  dressed  as  they  were  in  the 
skins  of  the  clumsy  denizens  of  the  North,  which 
caused  many  a  laugh  at  the  odd  figure  each  presented 
in  his  hirsute  ball  costume  and  at  his  all  but  graceful 
motions. 

Meanwhile  the  cold  was  becoming  more  and  more 
intense.  Sometimes  on  awaking  in  the  morning,  or 
what,  according  to  their  reckoning,  ought  to  be  the 
morning,  their  beards  were  frozen  to  the  bed-clothes 
and  the  bread  and  meat  were  so  hard  that  the  one 
could  onlv  be  broken  with  a  hammer  and  the  other  cut 


64  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

with  an  axe.  The  wine  even,  of  which  they  had  a 
cask  in  the  cabin,  was  frozen  solid,  and  when  chopped 
out  and  melted  was  found  to  have  lost  all  its  virtue. 
Scurvy  also  made  its  dreaded  appearance  among  the 
men,  the  sufferings  caused  by  which  could  not  be  al- 
leviated. To  all  this  privation  and  distress  the  gal- 
lant Barendsz  finally  succumbed.  The  present  was 
his  fourth  voyage  in  search  of  a  northeast  passage,  but 
amid  the  ice  that  he  had  so  manfully  braved  and 
through  which  he  had  hoped  to  find  a  way  that  should 
be  of  special  benefit  to  the  commerce  of  his  native  land, 
he  shut  his  eyes  in  death  on  the  very  day  that  the 
kindly  eye  of  the  sun  once  more  smiled  upon  his  com- 
panions. 

With  the  return  of  daylight  the  weather  began 
slowly  to  moderate,  the  snow  ceased  to  fall  and  the 
pressure  of  the  ice  gradually  diminished.  Every  man 
was  set  to  work  to  free  the  ship  from  the  ice,  after 
which  it  was  thoroughly  overhauled  and  once  more 
made  seaworthy.  Whatever  remained  in  the  hut  that 
could  still  be  of  service  was  taken  out  and  put  on 
board.  Heemskerk,  still  strong  in  his  belief,  had 
bated  not  one  jot  of  hope  that  the  looked-for  way  to 
China  would  yet  be  found.  But  there  was  no  one 
among  his  men  that  any  longer  shared  either  his  hope 
or  belief;  they  persistently  refused  to  go  aboard  and 
work  the  ship  unless  assured  that  he  would  steer 
straight  for  their  native  coasts.  There  was  nothing 
for  it  but  to  give  in  to  the  men,  though  Heemskerk 
himself  would  still  freely  have  staked  his  life  on 
the  ultimate  success  of  the -undertaking.  The  ice  did 
not  permit  them  to  leave  Nova  Zembla,  however,  till 


JACOB  VAN  HEEMSKERK.  65 

the  I4th  of  June,  1597,  when  they  entered  upon  their 
return  voyage,  carrying  with  them  the  body  of  the  in- 
trepid Barendsz.  On  the  I9th  of  the  following  Oc- 
tober, after  an  absence  of  one  year,  five  months  and 
nine  days,  they  once  more  set  foot  in  Amsterdam. 

The  passage  to  the  East  through  the  ice-bound  wa- 
ters of  the  North  had  not  been  found,  indeed,  yet  all 
honored  the  brave  Heemskerk  who  for  the  advance- 
ment of  science  and  the  advantage  of  his  fatherland 
had  exposed  himself  to  so  many  hardships  and  perils. 
From  every  quarter  of  Europe  merchants  and  men 
of  science  came  to  see  the  daring  navigator  and  to 
discuss  with  him  the  subject  that  had  led  him  to  enter 
upon  his  great  undertaking.  Many  have  since  fol- 
lowed him  in  exploring  the  polar  sea  and  have  pene- 
trated much  farther  than  he  through  the  icy  barrier, 
some,  like  Sir  John  Franklin  and  his  men,  giving 
their  lives  in  the  attempt;  but  to  Heemskerk  belongs, 
with  Barendsz,  the  honor  of  being  the  pioneer  in  the 
heroic  endeavor  to  make  the  frozen  North  give  a 
passageway  to  commerce.  A  few  years  ago  an  Eng- 
lishman, C.  Gardenier,  safely  traversed  the  Kara  Sea 
in  his  steam  yacht,  the  Glowworm,  and,  landing  on 
the  northern  end  of  Nova  Zembla,  found  there  the 
remains  of  the  winter  quarters  of  Barendsz  and 
Heemskerk.  He  recovered  here  also  a  number  of  in- 
teresting relics  of  those  Dutch  navigators,  among 
which  was  a  still  legible  manuscript  record  of  their  ex- 
perience there  signed  by  both  and  inclosed  in  a  powder 
horn.  Mr.  Gardenier  generously  presented  all  these 
mementoes  to  the  Dutch  government,  which  placed 
them  in  the  national  museum  at  Amsterdam,  where 


66  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

they  form  part  of  the  contents  of  the  hut  made  in  exact 
imitation  of  that  in  which  that  long  and  bitter  polar 
winter  was  passed. 

A  northeast  passage  to  China  and  the  East  Indies 
was  not  to  be  found ;  the  only  way  for  the  merchant- 
men of  Holland  to  reach  these  eastern  regions  safely 
and  securely  would  be  through  the  defeated  fleets  of 
Spain  or  by  her  entire  overthrow  at  sea.  And  Heems- 
kerk  was  himself  to  be  the  man  who  should  make  the 
most  glorious  beginning  in  this  undertaking. 

Before  entering  upon  this,  however,  he  had  been 
sent,  some  time  after  his  return  from  his  last  fruit- 
less expedition  to  the  North,  to  the  East  Indies,  in 
command  of  two  small  vessels  whose  united  crews 
numbered  not  more  than  two  hundred.  With  these 
he  gained  additional  renown  by  the  capture,  after  a 
terrific  battle,  of  an  immense  carack  or  galleon  manned 
with  800  fighting  men.  On  this  occasion  he  dis- 
tinguished himself  as  much  by  his  humane  treatment 
of  the  captured  enemies  as  by  his  heroism. 

After  this  exploit  nothing  specially  noteworthy  is 
recorded  of  Heemskerk  till  he  suddenly  reaped  im- 
mortal fame  by  the  performance  of  a  deed  that  may 
be  classed  as  a  near  parallel  to  the  great  feat  of  our 
own  Dewey  in  the  Bay  of  Manila  on  May  i,  1898.  On 
the  afternoon  of  April  25,  1607,  Heemskerk  utterly 
destroyed  a  large  Spanish  fleet  under  the  very  guns  of 
the  great  fortress  of  Gibraltar,  then  still  a  Spanish 
stronghold. 

The  year  before,  the  incipient  Dutch  Republic  had 
sent  out  a  fleet  under  Admiral  Hautain  to  lay  for  and 
capture  the  Spanish  treasure  fleet  on  its  return  from 


JACOB  VAN  HEEMSKERK.  67 

the  West  Indies.  But  Hautain  was  not  the  man  for 
such  an  undertaking ;  he  came  back  without  having  ac- 
complished anything.  One  of  his  captains,  Reinier 
Claessens,  however,  was  the  hero  of  one  of  those  mar- 
velous exploits  so  common  during  the  period  of  Hol- 
land's growing  maritime  power.  Being  cut  off  from 
the  rest  of  the  fleet,  he,  for  two  long  days,  sustained 
himself,  single  handed,  against  eight  great  Spanish 
galleons.  At  last,  when  his  masts  were  all  shot  away 
and  the  Beggars'  flag  was  nailed  to  the  stump  of  the 
last  remaining  one,  when  only  sixty  of  his  crew  were 
left  alive,  many  of  whom  were  almost  utterly  disabled 
by  wounds,  Claessens  gathered  his  men  around  him  on 
deck  and  there  gave  them  the  choice  of  surrender  to 
the  Spaniard  Fayardo  or  of  blowing  up  the  ship.  With 
one  voice  they  voted  for  the  latter.  Then  all  kneeled 
down  in  prayer,  beseeching  God  to  pardon  them  for 
what  they  were  about  to  do,  after  which  the  captain 
himself  went  down  into  the  hold  and  put  the  match  to 
the  powder  magazine.  With  the  blaze  and  terrific  crash 
of  the  exploding  ship  the  haughty  Dons  learned  once 
more  the  desperate  courage  of  the  sons  of  that  young 
republic  in  which  they  were  seeking  to  extinguish  the 
spirit  of  manhood  and  independence. 

Soon  after  Hautain's  return  a  fleet  was  sent  out  again 
for  the  purpose  of  attacking  and,  with  God's  help,  of 
defeating  the  Spaniards  on  whatever  waters  they 
might  be  found,  in  order  thus  to  compel  Philip  II.  to 
grant  the  republic  favorable  terms  of  peace.  For  the 
command  of  this  fleet  there  was  no  one  more  fitting  than 
the  man  whom  the  government  unanimously  selected, 
the  already  famous  Jacob  van  Heemskerk.  On  this  oc- 


68  NAVAL   HEROES  OF    HOLLAND. 

casion  he  gave  proof  that  he  was  as  unselfish  in  his 
patriotism  as  he  had  already  shown  himself  great  in 
skill  and  daring;  for,  when  the  command  of  this  fleet 
was  offered  him,  he  only  accepted  on  the  condition  that 
he  should  receive  no  salary,  but  simply  an  honorarium 
of  13  per  cent,  of  the  booty  that  he  might  bring  home 
in  excess  of  500,000  florins. 

The  fleet  set  out  from  Texel  about  the  beginning  of 
April,  1607.  At  first  it  numbered  only  twenty-one  ves- 
sels, including  four  transports.  After  entering  the 
Channel,  near  the  Isle  of  Wight,  it  was  joined  by  nine 
more,  so  that  now  it  numbered  twenty-six  men-of-war 
besides  the  transports.  About  the  loth  of  the  month 
Heemskerk  reached  the  Tagus  and  sent  one  of  his 
ships,  disguised  as  a  merchantman,  up  the  river  to  dis- 
cover how  much  of  a  fleet  the  enemy  had  collected 
there.  This  ship  returned  with  the  news  that  a  mer- 
chant fleet  was  getting  ready,  but  that  it  would  be  some 
time  before  it  could  come  down  the  river.  From  other 
vessels  coming  from  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar  it  was 
learned  that  a  Spanish  fleet,  composed  mainly  of  the 
heaviest  galleons,  was  cruising  in  that  neighborhood, 
lying  in  wait  for  any  Dutch  ships  that  might  be  coming 
down  the  Mediterranean.  Instantly  Heemskerk  turned 
his  course  in  that  direction ;  but,  the  wind  being  con- 
trary, the  fleet  made  but  slow  progress.  His  first  plan, 
indeed,  had  been  to  sail  up  the  Tagus,  in  defiance  of 
the  forts  about  Lisbon,  and  to  capture  or  destroy  what- 
ever Spanish  ships  might  be  found  there.  But  when  he 
learned  of  the  near  presence  of  the  Spanish  fleet  of 
war,  to  attack  and,  if  possible,  destroy  this  seemed  more 
iri  keeping  with  the  honor  and  advantage  of  the  father- 


JACOB  VAN  HEEMSKERK.  69 

land  as  well  as  with  the  disposition  of  the  other  com- 
manders of  his  fleet.  Among  these  was  the  vice-ad- 
miral, Lambrecht  Hendricks,  a  man  of  commanding 
stature  and  fine  exterior,  whom  his  sailors  had  dubbed 
"Handsome  Lambert."  He  had  fought  against  Spi- 
nola,  and  a  couple  of  years  before  had  made  a  name  for 
himself  in  a  desperate  fight  with  a  fleet  of  Dunkirk 
pirates.  In  this  battle  Lambert  boldly  laid  his  ship 
alongside  of  the  pirate  admiral,  boarded  it,  and  cutting 
down  all  that  withstood  him,  forced  the  admiral  and  all 
his  remaining  crew  to  surrender.  One  of  the  ships  in 
the  present  case  under  the  immediate  command  of 
Handsome  Lambert  had  for  its  captain  Harpert  Tromp, 
with  whom  was  his  little  son,  Marten,  then  only  ten 
years  old,  and  who  there  received  his  baptism  of  fire  on 
the  watery  field  where  he  afterwards  was  to  become 
forever  famous  as  Marten  Harpertsz.  Tromp.  Another 
noted  name  among  the  captains  of  the  fleet  was  that  of 
Henry  Janszoon  of  Amsterdam,  also  distinguished  on 
account  of  his  great  stature,  and  therefore  called  by  his 
men  "Long  Hank." 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Cape  St.  Vincent  Heemskerk 
fell  in  with  a  countryman,  a  skipper  from  Flushing, 
who  had  just  come  from  the  Strait  and  reported  that 
he  had  been  hemmed  in  the  whole  night  by  the  Spanish 
fleet,  but  had  managed  to  slip  away  as  soon  as  day  be- 
gan to  break.  He  also  said  that  the  Spanish  fleet  was 
evidently  steering  for  Cadiz  and  seemed  a  great  deal 
stronger  than  that  of  Heemskerk.  To  this,  which  the 
skipper  had  intended  as  a  caution  ,  the  gallant  admiral 
replied,  "That  does  not  trouble  me  in  the  least,"  and  at 
once  signaled  his  fleet  to  sail  in  the  same  direction  as 


7°  NAVAL   HEROES   OF   HOLLAND. 

that  which  the  Spaniards  were  steering  from  the  south- 
ward. There  was  no  room  for  doubt  that  the  fleet  seen 
by  the  Flushing  skipper  was  composed  of  the  great 
men-of-war  which  had  been  reported  before.  Heems- 
kerk,  however,  did  not  at  once  steer  directly  towards 
the  Strait  of  Gibraltar,  but  entered  the  bight  made  by 
the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  coasts,  in  which  the  beau- 
tiful Guadalquivir  empties.  On  the  24th  of  April  they 
entered  its  mouth,  opposite  the  little  city  of  San  Lucas. 
Nothing  was  to  be  seen  here  of  the  Spanish  fleet.  They 
ran,  therefore,  farther  by  the  coast  past  Cadiz,  which 
lies  so  picturesquely  on  a  small  island  to  the  rigRt  of 
the  entrance  of  the  Bay  of  Gibraltar.  The  Dutch 
sailors  must  have  looked  with  admiring  gaze  at  the 
magnificent  views  which  the  shores  there  offer,  with 
their  charming  valleys,  the  white  houses  embowered  in 
splendid  green,  and  the  great  blue  mountain  heights 
forming  the  magnificent  background.  But  whatever 
they  did  see,  the  object  they  looked  for  most  eagerly, 
the  Spanish  fleet,  was  nowhere  in  sight.  They  may 
have  passed  each  other  in  the  night  without  either  be- 
ing aware  of  the  other's  presence.  But  toward  sunset 
a  French  ship  was  signaled  coming  from  Gibraltar,  and 
this  reported  having  passed  the  Spanish  fleet  riding  at 
anchor  under  the  guns  of  the  towering  fortress.  At 
last !  And  so  near !  For  from  Cadiz  to  Gibraltar  is  but 
a  short  run.  Steering  a  little  south,  then  south  by 
east,  turn  the  corner,  and  Gibraltar  with  its  tremen- 
dous rock  and  fastnesses,  the  roadstead  and  the  city  lie 
before  you  on  the  horizon,  while  to  the  right  you  see 
the  ever  blue  waters  of  the  Mediterranean  that  wash 
the  shores  of  the  twin  continents. 


JACOB  VAN  HEEMSKERK.  71 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  25th  of  April  that 
Heemskerk's  sailors  rounded  the  headland  and  saw 
not  only  Gibraltar,  but  the  long-sought  Spanish  gal- 
leons lying  before  them.  Had  they  been  men  of  differ- 
ent mettle,  when  they  measured  their  insignificant  ships 
with  the  great  sea-castles  before  them,  well  might  they 
have  clamored  to  be  led  back  at  once  through  the 
Strait  and  into  the  wide  ocean,  as  far  as  possible  from 
the  peril  that  seemed  to  threaten  them.  But  there  was 
scarcely  a  man  on  board  but  burned  with  eagerness 
to  get  at  the  hated  foe  even  there  in  his  seemingly 
impregnable  position.  No  sooner  had  the  Spanish 
squadrons  come  into  view  but  everything  on  the  Dutch 
fleet  was  in  commotion.  Heemskerk  summoned  his 
officers  on  board  the  flagship,  the  JEolus,  for  a  coun- 
cil of  war.  Here  the  plan  of  battle  was  decided  upon, 
after  which  the  fleet  was  permitted  at  first  to  drift 
slowly  through  the  Strait  with  the  current,  which  here 
always  runs  in  the  same  direction,  from  the  Atlantic 
into  the  Mediterranean.  Gradually  Gibraltar  looms 
up  nearer  and  nearer,  and  already  the  enemy's  vessels, 
lying  at  anchor  below  the  city,  can  be  clearly  and  sep- 
arately distinguished.  These  are,  just  as  the  Flush- 
ing skipper  had  reported,  some  of  the  heaviest  galleons 
which  the  Spaniards  possessed.  Farther  in  the  bay 
other  ships  are  seen,  which  by  their  build  are  recog- 
nized as  belonging  to  their  own  countrymen  and  which 
had  but  lately  been  captured,  their  crews  even  now 
being  confined  in  the  noisome  holds  of  some  of  these 
very  Spanish  men-of-war. 

It  was  now  an  hour  after  noon.  The  sky  was  bright 
and  clear,  scarcely  a  zephyr  was  stirring;  the  sails 


7»  NAVAL   HEROES   OF   HOLLAND. 

were  hanging  listlessly  from  the  yards,  only  from  time 
to  time  flapping  lazily  against  the  rigging  with  the 
motion  of  the  ships,  that  were  carried  along  by  the 
current  alone  farther  into  the  Strait.  Above  the  op- 
posite shore  yonder,  that  barren,  wild,  desolate  coast, 
the  clouds  were  piling  up  in  black  and  threatening  ar- 
ray, prophetic  of  disaster.  On  the  other  side,  the  left 
as  one  enters  the  Strait  from  the  Atlantic,  rose,  mas- 
sive and  frowning,  the  enormous  rock.  This  is  the 
place  where  the  mighty  Titanic  gods  of  antiquity  tore 
asunder  the  two  continents,  leaving  the  towering  fast- 
nesses, the  pillars  of  Hercules,  and  letting  in  through 
the  gap  thus  made  the  blue  waters  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean, on  whose  bosom  the  Greeks,  Romans  and  Cartha- 
ginians learned  the  world-conquering  and  world-unit- 
ing art  of  seamanship.  Through  this  gap  came  the 
African  Tarik,  son  of  Abdallah,  to  wage  war  with  the 
fair-featured  sons  of  Europe.  The  victorious  Afri- 
cans made  themselves  masters  of  the  gigantic  rock  and 
of  the  city  on  its  hinder  slope,  after  which  they  called 
the  massy  peak  Gib-al-Tarick,  the  name  still  preserved 
in  that  of  Gibraltar.  Here,  where  the  Moor  and  the 
Iberian  in  the  ages  gone  had  fought  with  deadly,  re- 
lentless hatred,  in  sight  of  these  same  pillars  of  Her- 
cules, two  peoples,  animated  with  an  equally  implaca- 
ble enmity,  were  to  meet  in  a  contest  as  bitter  and 
pitiless — the  proud,  world-conquering,  persecuting 
Spaniards,  and  the  defenders,  and,  if  it  might  be,  the 
avengers  of  feeble,  oppressed,  persecuted  Holland. 
The  insignificant  vessels  of  the  nascent  republic  ad- 
vanced against  the  towering  galleons  which  were  lying 
there  in  such  haughty  confidence  under  the  bristling 


JACOB  VAN  HEEMSKERK.  73 

battlements  of  the  rock-fortress.  But  even  as  yonder 
over  the  African  coast  a  tempest  is  brewing  and  the 
lightning  is  flashing  through  the  leaden  clouds,  presag- 
ing disaster,  so  a  tempest  of  war,  big  with  ruin  to  that 
strong  fleet  of  haughty  Spain,  is  rising  over  Gibraltar. 
Heemskerk  has  prepared  his  plan  of  attack,  and  now, 
dressed  in  full  panoply,  he  stands  on  the  quarter  deck  of 
his  flagship  surrounded  by  his  chief  captains.  He, 
himself,  before  entering  upon  the  battle,  has  been  down 
on  his  knees  in  his  cabin,  in  secret  seeking  help  from 
the  God  of  battles,  a  not  uncommon  practise  with  those 
old  Dutch  heroes  of  the  sea.  Now  he  has  a  last  word 
for  his  officers  and  men,  telling  them  that  with  full  re- 
liance upon  God  he  had  determined  to  attack  the 
Spaniards  where  they  lay.  "We  have  thus  far,"  he 
continued,  "been  the  weaker  party;  but  the  God  of 
Holland  has  not  deserted  us.  We  are  braver  and  more 
skilful  than  the  Spaniards ;  we  are  fighting  for  the  free- 
dom of  ourselves  and  of  the  fatherland,  the  preserva- 
tion not  only  of  the  lives  but  the  honor  of  our  wives 
and  mothers  and  daughters — for  all  that  is  dear  to 
every  human  heart.  They  there  fight  only  for  booty 
and  for  all  that  may  minister  to  their  lust  and  pride. 
The  safety  and  sanctity  of  our  homes,  the  freedom  of 
our  native  land,  the  honor  of  our  nation  has  been  en- 
trusted to  you  and  me.  With  the  eyes  of  Europe  and 
Africa  upon  you,  it  is  yours  to  deserve,  with  the  bless- 
ing of  God,  the  gratitude  of  your  country  and  of  all 
posterity."  Then,  when  to  all  their  several  posts  and 
duties  had  been  assigned,  so  that  each  knew  just  what 
was  expected  of  him,  they  all  knelt  down  together  for 


74  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

prayer,  after  which  each  gave  the  other  the  right  hand 
in  pledge  of  unwavering  fidelity. 

Let  us  take  a  look  now  at  the  Spanish  fleet.  It  num- 
bered twenty-one  vessels,  of  which  ten  were  the  heav- 
iest galleons  ever  built  in  a  Spanish  shipyard,  veritable 
sea  monsters,  towering  with  their  triple  and  quadruple 
decks  far  above  the  low  hulls  of  their  opponents,  each 
of  them  more  than  a  match,  if  well  and  bravely  han- 
dled, for  any  four  of  the  attacking  ships.  The  Spanish 
flagship,  the  St.  Augustine,  was  manned  with  seven 
hundred  sailors  and  soldiers ;  the  crew  of  the  vice-ad- 
miral's ship,  the  Sefiora  de  la  Vega,  numbered  four 
hundred  and  fifty,  while  the  Madre  de  Dios,  the  ship  of 
the  rear-admiral,  was  of  equal  size  with  the  latter.  The 
united  crews  of  the  galleons  numbered  about  four 
thousand.  The  rest  of  the  fleet  was  composed  of  gal- 
leys, vessels  with  two  or  three  masts,  and  which  were 
propelled  besides  by  from  sixty  to  eighty  oarsmen,  the 
galley-slaves  of  those  days.  Besides  the  regular  crews 
and  soldiers,  a  number  of  nobles  and  other  volunteers 
had  joined  the  fleet  as  soon  as  the  approach  of  the 
Hollanders  had  been  reported  from  San  Lucas.  In  com- 
mand of  the  entire  Spanish  force  was  the  veteran  Don 
Juan  Alvarez  d'Avila,  who  had  gained  renown  in  the 
famous  battle  of  Lepanto. 

Proudly  Don  Juan  paces  the  quarter-deck  of  his 
great  ship,  boasting  of  the  superior  strength  of  his 
fleet.  Presently  he  orders  one  of  the  prisoners  to  be 
brought  before  him,  who  proved  to  be  the  captain  of  a 
merchantman  from  Rotterdam,  lately  taken  by  the 
Spaniards.  As  the  Rotterdam  skipper,  Covert  the  Eng- 
lishman, as  he  was  called  at  home,  came  on  deck  he  be- 


JACOB  VAN  HEEMSKERK.  75 

held  the  ships  of  his  native  land,  flying  the  Orange 
colors,  already  at  the  entrance  of  the  bay.  Pointing  to 
these,  d'Avila  asked  Govert  with  a  contemptuous 
sneer,  "What  do  those  little  boats  yonder  want  here,  do 
you  think?" 

"If  I  know  anything  of  my  countrymen,  they  come 
to  give  you  battle,"  was  the  instant  answer. 

At  this  reply  a  loud,  incredulous  laugh  arose  from 
the  commander  and  his  suite. 

"To  give  battle  to  me!  Why,  I  alone  with  the  St. 
Augustine  will  send  all  your  countrymen  there  to  the 
bottom."  And  old  Don  Juan  pointed  again  with  a 
sneer  at  the  approaching  Dutch  fleet,  stroked  and 
twisted  his  long  mustache  upwards,  in  true  Castilian 
style,  and  once  more  laughed  loudly  at  the  ridiculous 
folly  of  the  idea.  But,  see,  what  happens!  Aye,  in- 
deed, Don  Juan,  they  will  risk  it,  those  wretched  Beg- 
gars as  you  call  them ;  they  are  making  straight,  not 
for  you  alone,  but  for  your  entire  mighty  fleet.  And 
they  mean  fight.  The  last  word  of  command  has  been 
given  by  Heemskerk ;  the  blood-red  flag,  the  signal  for 
a  general  attack,  waves  from  the  Dutch  admiral's  main. 

Now  the  storm  that  rose  on  the  African  coast  reaches 
this  side  of  the  bay ;  the  wind  fills  the  sails ;  the  Dutch 
keels  cut  the  water  more  swiftly.  In  splendid  battle 
array  they  come,  those  small,  despicable  ships  of  the 
Beggars;  the  bugles  sound,  and  with  a  loud  hurrah 
from  every  Dutch  throat  their  fleet  dashes  at  the  foe. 
The  JEolus,  the  flagship,  at  once  selects  that  towering 
monster,  the  St.  Augustine,  for  its  special  prey.  Hand- 
some Lambert  is  to  follow  his  chief  with  the  Tiger.  The 
captains  Alteras  and  Bras  are  to  pay  their  court  to  the 


76  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

Senora  de  la  Vega  and  compel  her  to  submit  to  their 
rough  embraces.  Two  by  two,  such  are  the  orders — 
in  couples,  the  little  ships  of  the  Dutch  Republic  are  to 
assail,  one  by  one,  the  great  war  castles  of  Philip.  The 
result  would  be  a  matter  of  course.  It  is  now  half-past 
three  by  the  clock.  Heemskerk  is  steering  before  the 
wind  straight  for  d'Avila.  Everything  is  ready ;  every 
gunner  at  his  gun,  every  marine  with  loaded  musket  is 
ready  for  the  ordeal  of  death.  But  not  at  once  with 
thundering  cannon  and  rattling  musketry  is  that  tower- 
ing sea-fortress  to  be  assailed ;  the  little  Hollander  sails 
bow  on  and  so  tries  to  ram  and  crush  in  the  sides  of  his 
bulky  antagonist  before  pounding  and  piercing  him 
with  iron  bolt  and  ball.  But  when  within  only  a  couple 
of  ships'  lengths  from  the  bragging  Spaniard,  d'Avila 
seems  suddenly  to  have  changed  his  opinion  about  his 
before  despised  opponent;  for  he  slips  his  cables  and 
allows  his  great  galleon  to  drift  first  between  the  other 
ships  of  his  fleet  and  then  still  farther  up  the  bay,  till 
his  vice-admiral  and  two  other  galleons  lie  between  him 
and  Heemskerk.  But  this  is  of  slight  service  to  the  big 
Spaniard ;  for  the  little  Dutchman,  without  paying  any 
attention  to  the  rest  of  the  enemy,  passing  skilfully  be- 
tween them,  follows  directly  upon  the  heels  of  the  hero 
of  Lepanto,  who,  of  course,  could  not  drift  so  fast  as 
Heemskerk  could  sail.  The  bold  Dutchman,  in  order  to 
get  the  greater  momentum  for  ramming,  has  set  every 
stitch  of  canvas.  Suddenly  there  is  a  flash  and  a  roar ; 
the  St.  Augustine  has  fired  the  first  shot  and  presently 
follows  it  with  a  broadside.  The  ^olus  has  sustained 
but  slight  damage,  however,  and  now ,  coming  still 
bow  on,  also  opens  fire  from  her  two  heavy  forward 


JACOB  VAN  HEEMSKERK.  77 

guns,  and* tlien,  Borne  on  by  her  sails,  dashes  into  the 
broad  side  of  the  great  galleon  just  before  the  main- 
mast. With  a  terrific  crash  yards  and  rigging  of  the 
unwieldy  monster  come  tumbling  down,  more  destruc- 
tive even  than  the  missiles  that  come  hurtling  from  the 
guns  of  the  ^Eolus.  The  battle  has  begun  in  dead  ear- 
nest. With  furious  rage  broadside  after  broadside  is 
sent  point  blank  through  the  oaken  sides,  while  the 
rattling  of  the  muskets  mingles  with  the  thunder  of  the 
cannon,  and  the  flashing  of  the  guns  rivals  the  vivid 
lightning  of  the  heavens.  Meanwhile  Handsome  Lam- 
bert also  reaches  the  scene  and  his  ship,  the  Tiger, 
leaps  upon  the  Saint  from  the  other  side.  The  battle 
was  in  full  tilt,  too,  among  the  rest  of  the  fleets.  Al- 
teras,  of  the  Zeeland  squadron,  with  his  ship,  the  Red 
Lion,  and  Captain  Bras  with  the  Black  Bear,  were  to 
have  taken  care  of  the  Spanish  vice-admiral,  but  the 
wind,  coming  from  the  shore,  had  blown  Alteras  under 
the  lee  of  the  Senora.  Here  he  is  attacked  by  two  other 
galleons,  but  with  his  single  ship  gives  them  such  a  tre- 
mendously warm  reception  that  they  are  speedily 
driven  off  and  try  to  run  under  the  protection  of  the 
guns  of  Gibraltar.  But  they  are  not  to  get  off  so 
easily ;  for  Alteras  follows  them  even  there  and  does 
not  leave  them  till  one  of  them  is  sent  to  the  bottom 
and  the  other  driven  ashore.  The  batteries  of  the  for- 
tress are  of  little  use  because  the  fleets  are  so  mixed  up 
that  it  is  difficult  so  to  fire  as  not  to  do  more  damage  to 
their  own  than  to  their  enemy's  ships.  Meanwhile 
three  other  Dutch  vessels,  among  them  the  Black  Bear 
and  the  White  Bear,  have  completely  hemmed  in  the 
towering  galleon  of  the  Spanish  vice-admiral.  The  fight 


78          NAVAL  HEROES  OF  HOLLAND. 

here  rages  long  and  furiously;  but  at  last  the  Sefiora 
can  hold  out  no  longer  and  lowers  her  flag.  Instantly 
the  Hollanders  jump  on  board  and  set  fire  to  the  great 
monster.  Soon  through  each  side  of  her  hull,  through 
every  porthole  the  flames  burst  forth  and  twist 
themselves  like  fiery  serpents  along  the  rigging  and 
even  set  the  sails  ablaze.  But  this  becomes  equally  per- 
ilous to  the  victors,  for  their  ships  are  still  grappled  to 
the  Spaniard.  The  sails  of  the  Black  and  White  Bear 
have  already  caught  fire  and  the  Dutch  ships  are 
threatened  with  the  same  destruction  as  that  of  their 
vanquished  foe.  But  swiftly  the  axes  fly  in  the  brawny 
hands  of  the  sailors,  and  soon  they  have  cut  themselves 
loose.  And  now  Nostra  Sefiora  drifts  off  in  a  blaze 
from  keel  to  main-truck,  every  mast  a  torch,  every  rope 
a  swaying  fiery  serpent,  an  awful  spectacle  to  the  dum- 
founded  and  terror-stricken  Spaniards  on  shore  and  to 
the  rest  of  the  fleet,  but  a  sublime  scene  in  the  eyes  of 
the  exultant  Hollanders.  Not  far  from  this  another  of 
the  great  sea-castles  is  sent  to  the  bottom.  Yonder  still 
another  is  being  battered  by  Long  Hank.  Poor  fellow ! 
he  perished  here.  As  usual,  foremost  in  the  fight,  he 
had  exposed  himself  too  freely.  A  musket  ball  enter- 
ing his  shoulder  found  a  vital  spot  and  laid  him  dead 
on  his  deck.  In  the  heat  of  the  fray  his  men  did  not  at 
once  notice  the  fall  of  their  idolized  captain,  but  fought 
on  till  presently  the  galleon  from  which  the  fatal  shot 
had  come  is  also  sent  careering  down  the  bay  a  mass  of 
fire.  Similar  scenes  are  being  enacted  in  every  direc- 
tion. Fearful  was  the  sight  that  the  Bay  of  Gibraltar 
presented  on  that  day.  Along  the  shore  the  awe- 
stricken  Spaniards  are  astounded  witnesses  to  the  de- 


JACOB  VAN  HEEMSKERK.  79 

struction  of  their  fleet  by  these  heretic  Beggars.  A 
cloud  of  sulphurous  smoke  hangs  over  the  bay,  out  of 
which  burst  ever  and  anon  the  burning  spectres  of 
some  of  their  vaunted  ships.  Like  flaming  castles  they 
float  around,  the  still  loaded  cannon  exploding  of  their 
own  accord  and  hurling  their  shot  wildly  among  friend 
and  foe.  Now  and  again  a  great  fountain  of  lurid 
flame  mingled  with  firebrands  shoots  up  into  the  sky,  as 
if  a  volcano  had  broken  loose  there  in  the  deep,  as  the 
fire  reaches  the  magazine  of  some  burning  galleon  or  a 
hostile  ball  penetrates  to  the  powder  of  another.  Every- 
thing around,  even  the  gigantic  Rock  itself  ,  is  bathed 
in  a  fiery  glow.  Masts,  yards,  cannon,  mutilated  bodies 
of  sailors  and  soldiers,  come  hurtling  through  the  air, 
hurled  pell-mell  as  the  mighty  ships  explode.  A  few 
moments  more  and  the  sky  is  darkened  again,  and  the 
din  of  battle  gradually  subsides;  the  firing  becomes 
more  intermittent,  and  presently  ceases  altogether.  The 
Spanish  fleet  has  been  defeated.  Only  one  is  left  of  that 
armada  that  lay  there  so  proudly  and  confidently  till 
the  sun  had  passed  the  meridian  on  that  day.  The  St. 
Augustine,  d'Avila  flagship,  is  still  afloat,  but  hem- 
med in  by  three  of  his  despised  antagonists.  He  alone 
would  send  them  all  to  the  bottom,  would  he?  There 
are  but  three  of  them,  hanging  on  to  him  like  so  many 
panthers  to  a  buffalo,  slowly  but  surely  dragging  him 
to  his  doom.  And  there  is  no  hope  for  help,  for  all  the 
rest  of  the  fleet  of  which  a  few  short  hours  ago  he  was 
the  proud  commander  has  vanished.  But,  alas!  why 
talk  of  the  commander  ?  He  is  no  longer  there  to  boast 
or  fight.  Early  in  the  battle  he  fell,  leaving  his  son  to 
make  head,  if  he  could,  against  the  furious  fighters  that 


80  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

would  not  let  him  go.  But  Heemskerk,  too,  the  hero 
who  dared  to  attack  that  strong  fleet  in  that  almost  im- 
pregnable position,  and  with  his  inferior  force,  is  no 
more.  On  the  deck  of  his  flagship  lies  his  body  cov- 
ered with  a  mantle.  At  the  second  volley  from  the 
Spanish  flagship  a  ball  first  struck  a  sailor  standing 
near  Heemskerk,  then  took  off  the  right  hand  of  a  gun- 
ner, and  next  destroyed  the  right  leg  of  the  noble  ad- 
miral and  hurled  him  dying  to  the  deck.  Verhoef,  his 
flag-captain,  at  once  ran  to  the  prostrate  hero,  but  only 
to  hear  his  last  orders  to  hide  his  death  from  the  men 
and  to  fight  to  the  last.  No  time  for  mourning  now ; 
forward !  Sword  and  axe  in  hand,  or  between  the  teeth 
if  need  be.  Presently  Verhoef  gives  the  order  to  enter, 
and  from  the  ^olus,  the  Tiger  and  the  Griffin  the 
sailors  and  soldiers  clamber  up  the  towering  sides  and 
over  the  bulwarks.  Soon  the  Spaniard  raises  the 
white  flag-.  But  it  is  too  late.  The  men  have  somehow 
learned  of  the  death  of  their  gentle  and  heroic  admiral, 
and  nothing  can  restrain  their  desire  for  vengeance. 
One,  the  bugler  of  the  Griffin,  climbs  aloft  and  brings 
down  the  admiral's  flag,  securing  thus  the  promised  re- 
ward of  a  hundred  florins.  Next  a  rush  is  made  for 
the  costly  treasures  of  the  ship,  the  gold  and  silver 
plate  of  the  admiral  and  officers.  But  some  one  cries : 
"First  let  us  look  for  our  countrymen.  Perchance  they 
have  been  murdered  during  the  battle,  and  perchance 
they  are  still  alive."  Down,  therefore,  into  the  dark 
hold  of  the  great  ship  they  plunged,  but,  contrary  to 
their  fears,  found  there  every  one  of  the  captives  still 
alive,  though  bearing  the  indelible  marks  of  their  suf- 
ferings in  that  noisome  hole.  These  unfortunates  had 


JACOB  VAN  HEEMSKERK.  8l 

been  preserved  as  by  a  miracle.  Twice  d'Avila  had  sent 
an  emissary  down  to  dispatch  them,  one  a  soldier  and 
the  other  a  Moor ;  but  in  each  case  the  intended  execu- 
tioner was  himself  slain  by  a  cannon  ball  penetrating 
the  hold  without  doing  any  harm  to  the  imprisoned 
Hollanders,  while  a  third  shot,  just  before  the  capture 
of  the  ship,  had  smashed  the  chain  that  bound  them  to- 
gether. When  their  unfortunate  countrymen  had  been 
brought  into  the  open  air  and  refreshed,  the  victorious 
sailors  rushed  to  the  admiral's  cabin.  Here,  while 
looking  for  plunder,  they  found  among  a  lot  of  other 
papers  an  edict  issued  by  Philip  II.  commanding  the 
most  relentless  persecution  of  the  people  of  the  Nether- 
lands and  of  all  who  in  any  way  should  aid  or  abet 
them.  This  edict  the  Spanish  Admiral  Fayardo,  had 
already  carried  out  by  the  cold-blooded  murder  of  the 
crews  of  seven  Dutch  ships  laden  with  salt  and  which 
he  had  recently  captured.  This  precious  document  was 
signed  in  the  well-known  handwriting  of  Philip,  "Yo 
el  Rey,"  "I  the  King."  The  reading  of  this  paper 
filled  the  hearts  of  the  Dutch  sailors  with  such  uncon- 
trollable fury  as  utterly  to  extinguish  all  pity  for  the 
vanquished.  Jumping  into  their  boats  they  pursued 
the  Spaniards  that  were  still  struggling  in  the  water 
and  slew  them  there  by  the  score.  Had  Heemskerk, 
gentle  as  he  was  brave,  been  alive,  that  murderous 
scene  would  not  have  thus  sullied  the  glory  of  that  day. 
By  the  setting  of  the  sun  not  a  ship  of  that  proud 
fleet  was  left  afloat;  the  entire  boasted  Armada  had 
been  wiped  out  of  existence,  as  if  a  blast  of  the  Al- 
mighty had  swept  it  into  oblivion.  And  this  under  the 
very  guns  of  the  strongest  fortress  of  Europe,  without 


82  NAVAL   HEROES   OF   HOLLAND. 

the  loss  of  a  single  ship  on  the  part  of  the  attacking 
fleet,  and  at  the  expense  of  less  than  sixty  lives.  But 
both  the  fleet  and  the  fatherland  deeply  mourned  the 
loss  of  the  great  hero  who,  with  his  puny  ships,  had 
dared  to  measure  himself  with  the  hero  of  Lepanto 
under  conditions  so  disadvantageous  to  him  and  so 
favorable  to  the  Spaniards.  But  even  this  loss  was  not 
too  great  a  price  to  pay  for  the  glory  and  advantage 
gained  by  the  magnificent  victory.  Never  had  Spain 
received  such  a  lesson  of  the  boldness  and  prowess  of 
those  rebels  against  her  tyrannical  government  as  now, 
when  her  formidable  fleet  was  utterly  annihilated  in 
what  ought  to  have  been  the  securest  harbor  of  her 
coast;  a  defeat  that  spread  fear  and  consternation 
throughout  her  borders.  And  not  only  so,  but  this  vic- 
tory spread  the  fame  of  the  Dutch  navy  far  and  wide, 
and  inspired  respect  and  admiration  for  it  among  all 
the  people  along  the  Mediterranean.  Till  now  the  bat- 
tle of  Lepanto  had  impressed  Turk  and  Moor  with 
the  belief  that  the  fleets  of  Spain  were  invincible ;  but 
when  almost  under  their  very  eyes  one  of  the  chief 
heroes  of  that  famous  battle  had  lost  his  entire  fleet  in 
a  naval  fight  with  the  insignificant  ships  of  the  Dutch, 
they  at  once  began  to  look  upon  Holland  as  the  great 
naval  power  of  Europe.  And  this  opinion  soon  became 
general  when  the  victory  of  Gibraltar  was  followed  by 
battle  after  battle  on  the  sea  that  raised  the  maritime 
renown  of  Holland  to  the  very  pinnacle  of  glory.  The 
words  of  the  great  hero  of  that  fight  were  to  be  more 
than  fulfilled  when,  addressing  his  officers  before  the 
battle,  he  said,  as  if  possessed  of  the  spirit  of  prophecy : 


JACOB  VAN  HEEMSKERK.  83 

"To-day  a  long  series  of  victories  at  sea  is  to  begin 
that  will  make  our  fatherland  forever  famous." 

The  body  of  the  beloved  admiral  was  embalmed  and 
taken  to  Amsterdam.  Here,  on  the  8th  of  June,  it  was 
buried  with  great  pomp  at  the  expense  of  the  State, 
and  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  Old  Church,  where  his 
tomb  still  stands,  bearing  the  following  inscription : 

"Here  lies  Heemskerk." 
"Heemskerk,  who  dared  through  polar  ice  and  iron 

hail  to  steer, 
Left  to  his  country  fame;  at  strong  Gibraltar,  life;  his 

honored  body  here." 


PIET  HEIN. 

STATUE  AT  DELFTSHAVEN  —  BIRTHPLACE  —  CAPTURED  BY 
PIRATES  IN  BOYHOOD — FORMATION  AND  COMPOSITION  OF 
WEST  INDIA  COMPANY EXPEDITION  TO  BRAZIL ROMAN- 
TIC STORY  OF  FOUNDING  OF  BAHIA — DESCRIPTION  OF  THE 

CITY  AND  ITS    LOCATION  ATTACK   ON  AND  TAKING    OF 

BAHIA RECAPTURE  BY    SPANIARDS  RETURN  OF  PIET 

HEIN  TO  BAHIA — DARING  EXPLOITS  IN  CAPTURE  OF  SPAN- 
ISH SHIPS CAPTURE  OF  SILVER  FLEET  —  RECEPTION  BY 

THE  NATION  AND  BY  SISTER  —  RESULTS  OF  TAKING  OF 
SILVER  FLEET — MADE  LIEUTENANT-ADMIRAL  OF  HOLLAND 
— BATTLE  WITH  DUNKIRK  PIRATES — DEATH. 

One  of  the  most  delightful  walks  that  one  can  take 
in  charming  Holland  is  that  along  the  winding  dyke 
from  Schiedam  to  Rotterdam.  It  can  easily  be  done 
in  a  couple  of  hours.  About  half  way  between  those 
two  cities  lies  the  little  town  of  Delftshaven,  the  place 
that  forms  the  indissoluble  link  between  Holland  and 
the  United  States.  For  it  was  from  here  that  the  Pil- 
gim  Fathers  set  out  to  find  a  home  on  these  shores,  and 
to  carry  hither  the  principles  of  liberty  and  righteous- 
ness which  they  had  brought  from  their  English  homes 
and  which  they  had  so  thoroughly  fostered  in  the  land 
that  had  given  them  hospitable  asylum.  In  a  square  of 
that  little  town  of  Delftshaven  stands  the  statue  of  one 
of  Holland's  greatest  sailor  heroes.  He  is  repre- 
sented dressed  in  the  garb  of  one  of  the  old  naval  com- 
manders, with  the  admiral's  baton  in  the  hand,  the 
body  thrown  forward,  the  face  full  of  heroic  animation, 


PIKTERKETERSZGGltf  K131 
ii^r.utejruunt-AclmiraLfi.I  "van  Ko 


PIET   HEIN.  85 

the  whole  posture  being  that  of  one  not  merely  com- 
manding, but  leading  in  the  attack.  This  is  the  statue 
of  Lieutenant  Admiral  Peter  Peterson  Hein,  commonly 
called  Pete  Hein,  with  the  story  of  whose  exploits 
this  chapter  is  to  deal. 

The  first  mention  found  of  Pete  Hein  is  as  super- 
cargo on  board  of  a  Chinese  junk  which,  flying  the  flag 
of  the  Dutch  Republic,  entered  the  harbor  of  Jacatra, 
now  Batavia,  at  the  very  time  that  the  brave  Coen, 
commander  of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  troops, 
was  about  to  storm  that  strong  Javanese  city.  Like 
many  of  the  great  naval  heroes  of  his  native  land,  Pete 
Hein  was  of  humble  birth,  his  father  being  engaged  in 
the  herring  fishery.  His  birthplace  is  still  to  be  seen 
within  plain  sight  from  where  his  statue  stands,  the 
house  now  degraded,  alas !  like  that  in  which  the  great 
Erasmus  was  born  at  Rotterdam,  to  a  common  liquor 
saloon.  Strange  that  any  nation  should  so  far  forget 
the  debt  of  honor,  as  well  as  gratitude,  to  its  great  men 
as  to  permit  such  degradation.  When  still  very  young 
Pete  was  captured  by  the  Spaniards,  together  with  his 
father.  Both  were  compelled  to  serve  in  the  Spanish 
galleys,  where,  chained  to  their  seats,  they  had  to 
work  the  long  oars  or  sweeps.  Notwithstanding  this 
arduous  and  painful  toil  he  still  found  time  to  earn  a 
little  money  by  knitting  stockings,  in  which  he  had 
acquired  skill  in  childhood.  By  this  means  he  was 
able  to  alleviate  somewhat  their  deplorable  condition. 
After  some  time  they,  together  with  others  of  their 
fellow  countrymen,  were  exchanged  by  Mendo9a,  the 
Admiral  of  Aragon.  But  the  never  to  be  forgotten 
cruelties  which  he  and  his  father  had  suffered  while 


S6  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

serving  as  galley  slaves  inspired  him  ever  thereafter 
with  a  bitter  animosity  against  Spain  and  her  tyranni- 
cal rulers.  Later  he  was  again  taken  captive  by  the 
Spaniards,  and  for  two  years  tasted  once  more  of  their 
tender  mercies  while  serving  them  as  a  prisoner  in  the 
West  Indies.  But  little  is  known  further  of  his  life 
and  deeds  till  he  leaped  at  once  into  fame  by  the  cap- 
ture of  San  Salvador  in  Brazil.  That  he  must  have 
been  most  favorably  known  in  his  own  country,  how- 
ever, as  a  brave  and  able  sea  captain  is  sufficiently 
shown  by  his  appointment  as  vice-admiral  of  the  fleet 
sent  out  for  that  purpose. 

In  1621  the  enterprising  Hollanders,  though  still 
engaged  in  their  unequal  contest  with  mighty  Spain, 
had  established  the  West  India  Company.  This  had  a 
similar  object  and  was  established  on  a  like  basis  as 
that  of  the  East  India  Company,  namely,  the  establish- 
ing of  commercial  relations  with  the  lands  beyond  the 
European  waters  and  the  founding  of  colonies  in  them. 
The  West  India  Company  was  composed  of  a  syndicate 
of  leading  merchants,  and  had  for  its  immediate  ob- 
ject the  founding  of  commercial  entrepots  on  the 
American  continent.  The  East  India  Company,  on  the 
other  hand,  directed  its  efforts  mainly  to  the  East  In- 
dian archipelago  and  to  the  southern  coast  of  Africa. 
It  is  to  the  latter  company,  or  rather  to  the  daring 
navigators  whom  it  sent  out,  that  we  owe  our  knowl- 
edge of  New  Holland  (Australia),  New  Zealand,  and 
Tasmania.  Both  companies,  however,  had  another  and 
ulterior  motive  in  common,  namely,  the  conquest  of 
the  foreign  possessions  and  the  destruction  of  the 
fleets  of  the  Spaniards,  the  hated  oppressors  and  im- 


PIET   HEIN.  87 

placable  foes  of  their  fatherland.  Both  became  most 
important  factors  in  that  great  struggle  for  liberty 
which  the  little  Dutch  Republic  was  waging.  Indeed, 
they  may  be  said  to  have  had  a  large  share  in  bringing 
about  the  ultimate  glorious  result — the  independence 
of  the  Netherlands  and  the  overthrow  and  humiliation 
of  Spain;  a  humiliation  from  which  she  never  recov- 
ered, and  which  the  greater  republic,  which  owes  so 
much  to  its  small  but  valiant  predecessor,  completed 
in  the  year  of  grace  1898  by  its  noble  work  in  the 
liberation  of  the  Cubans  and  the  Filipinos  from  the 
intolerable  burden  of  the  Spanish  yoke. 

Since  it  was  in  the  service  of  the  West  India  Com- 
pany that  Pete  Hein  performed  those  deeds  of  valor 
that  give  him  the  right  to  be  ranked  not  only  among 
the  first  of  naval  heroes  of  his  own  day  and  country, 
but  among  those  of  all  lands  and  times,  it  may  be  worth 
while  to  say  a  few  words  about  the  organization  and 
constitution  of  the  company. 

The  West  India  Company  was  divided  into  five  bu- 
reaus of  "chambers"  as  they  were  called.  The  Cham- 
ber of  the  Maas  was  established  at  Rotterdam;  that 
of  North  Holland,  or  The  North  Quarter,  as  it  was 
designated,  at  either  Enkhuyzen  or  Hoorn  cities  on  the 
Zuyder  Zee ;  that  of  Friesland  and  Groningen,  at  Gro- 
ningen,  the  capital  of  the  province  of  the  same  name; 
that  of  Zeeland,  at  Middelburg ;  while  that  of  Amster- 
dam had,  of  course,  that  city  for  its  headquarters.  The 
management  of  the  company  was  entrusted  to  forty-six 
directors,  of  whom  the  Chamber  at  Amsterdam,  as  the 
most  important,  holding  as  it  did  four-ninths  of  all 
the  shares  of  the  stock,  chose  twenty.  A  small  num- 


88  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

her,  consisting  of  nineteen  members,  had  charge  of  the 
general  interests  of  the  company,  and  acted  as  a  sort 
of  permanent  committee  of  the  whole.  Eighteen  of 
these  were  chosen  by  the  several  chambers,  but  the 
nineteenth  was  appointed  by  the  States  General,  i.  e., 
the  general  government,  or  rather,  as  we  would  call  it, 
the  National  Legislature.  Though  this  did  not  meddle 
with  the  general  management,  its  sovereignty  was 
acknowledged  over  any  and  all  lands  or  places  that 
might  be  conquered  by  the  forces  of  the  company. 

It  was  not  till  two  years  after  the  establishment  of 
the  West  India  Company  that  it  was  able  to  send  out 
a  fleet  of  sufficient  strength  to  promise  success.  As 
already  said,  one  of  the  main  objects  of  the  company  in 
its  American  expeditions  was  to  inflict  as  much  damage 
upon  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese  and  to  take  as  many 
places  from  them  as  possible.  In  the  first  it  had  in 
view  particularly  the  capture  of  the  rich  fleets  with 
sugar  and  silver  that  periodically  passed  from  America 
to  Spain,  though  its  other  object,  the  conquest  and 
colonization  of  the  Western  Hemisphere,  was  by  no 
means  lost  sight  of,  as  their  ultimate  possession  of  the 
whole  of  Brazil  attests.  At  last,  in  1623,  they  had  a 
sufficient  fleet  ready  to  enter  upon  the  business.  After 
long  deliberation  in  the  several  chambers  it  had  been 
decided  to  send  out  an  expedition  to  Brazil,  a  country 
then  but  little  known,  but  from  which  constant  reports 
had  come  of  its  richness  in  much  that  was  desirable 
from  a  mercantile  point  of  view.  This  part  of  the 
western  world  had  indeed  belonged  to  Portugal,  but 
when  that  kingdom  was  united  to  Spain  in  1580,  all  its 
possessions  in  the  East  and  West  Indies,  as  the  coun- 


PIET    HEIN.  89 

tries  in  those  regions  were  indiscriminately  called, 
were  also  seized  by  its  conquerers.  It  had  been  observed 
however  again  and  again  that  the  Spanish  government 
attached  more  importance  to  its  own  original  posses- 
sions in  the  West  Indies  than  to  those  that  had  been 
taken  from  Portugal,  and  that  they  kept  the  former  in 
a  far  better  state  of  defense.  It  seemed  to  the  company, 
therefore,  much  more  practicable  to  attack  Spain's  pos- 
sessions in  the  regions  of  America  formerly  held  by 
Portugal.  The  West  Indies  proper  also  were  more 
difficult  of  access  at  that  time  than  Brazil,  so  that  it 
would  take  a  great  deal  more  time  and  expense  to  send, 
if  necessary,  reinforcements  of  ships,  troops,  ammuni- 
tion, or  provisions.  Besides  Brazil,  at  least  so  much 
of  it  as  was  in  the  actual  possession  of  Spain,  was 
largly  used  as  a  penal  colony,  a  couple  of  ship  loads  of 
convicts  being  sent  thither  every  year.  The  Dutch 
naturally  concluded,  consequently,  that  these  convicts 
would  not  be  very  strongly  inclined  to  give  their  lives 
in  defense  of  their  rulers.  They  reckoned,  moreover, 
upon  the  assistance  of  the  Indians,  who,  as  in  all  other 
regions  where  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese  had  set 
foot,  had  been  forcibly  compelled  to  embrace  the  re- 
ligion of  their  conquerers,  or  had  been  relentlessly 
driven  out  of  their  native  possessions  and  treated  with 
the  most  barbarous  cruelty.  All  these  considerations 
induced  the  company  to  make  an  attack  on  the  very 
heart  of  the  Spanish  colony  in  Brazil  and  to  capture  its 
capital,  San  Salvador,  by  force  of  arms.  Its  first  con- 
siderable armament,  therefore,  was  dispatched  to  this 
quarter  of  the  world.  The  destination  of  this  was,  how- 
ever, not  at  once  made  known  to  the  officers,  though 


90  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

secret  instructions  had  been  given  to  the  admiral, 
which  he  was  to  communicate  only  at  a  certain  point  on 
the  voyage. 

The  fleet  consisted  of  twenty-seven  vessels,  some  of 
which  were  comparatively  small  yachts,  and  was  under 
the  immediate  command  of  Jacob  Willikens  as  admiral, 
with  Peter  Peterson  Hein  as  vice-admiral.  The  ships 
of  which  it  was  to  be  composed  had  to  be  collected 
from  various  ports,  so  that  it  was  some  time  before 
the  entire  force  could  assemble  at  the  place  of  depar- 
ture. Nowadays  this  matter  would  be  managed 
much  more  expeditiously,  but  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury there  were  no  telegraphs,  neither  over  land  nor 
submarine.  Nor  was  there  any  regular  mail  service  at 
sea,  so  that  orders  and  other  communications  took  a 
long  time  to  reach  their  destinations.  Each  ship  of  the 
fleet,  therefore,  had  to  be  fitted  out  separately  without 
regard  to  the  rest,  and  set  sail  as  soon  as  its  equipment 
was  completed.  Thus  it  had  come  to  be  the  25th  of 
January  before  the  last  vessel  was  ready  for  sea.  It 
was  not  many  years  after  this,  however,  when  the 
Dutch  learned  to  fit  out  fleets  of  men  of  war  with  amaz- 
ing rapidity,  as  will  be  seen  in  succeeding  chapters. 

Admiral  Willikens,  impatient  at  the  delay,  had  already 
proceeded  to  sea  with  the  greater  portion  of  his  com- 
mand, and  had  reached,  by  the  28th  of  January,  St. 
Vincent,  one  of  the  northernmost  islets  of  the  Cape 
Verde  group.  Here  he  cast  anchor  to  await  the  rest  of 
his  fleet.  But  seeing  that  the  last  of  his  vessels  had 
left  Holland  only  three  days  before  and  that  St.  Vin- 
cent lies  somewhere  in  latitude  24  degrees  north,  more 


PIET   HEIN.  91 

than  twenty  degrees  south  of  Amsterdam,  it  was  some 
time  before  all  had  reached  the  rendezvous. 

Meanwhile  the  admiral  had  made  good  use  of  the 
delay,  vexatious  as  it  may  have  been,  by  drilling  his 
men  daily  in  the  handling  of  the  guns  and  the  use  of 
small  arms,  and  in  whatever  might  be  of  service  either 
in  the  management  of  the  ships  during  a  naval  engage- 
ment or  in  the  siege  of  a  city.  Much  time  was  spent 
also  in  naval  manoeuvres  and  evolutions,  just  as  if  they 
were  already  in  the  presence  of  the  enemy.  Whatever 
might  be  needed,  too,  either  for  attack  or  defense,  was 
here  made  ready  or  put  in  order;  such  as  gabions, 
sloops,  pikes,  axes,  boarding-grapnels,  etc.  Seven 
large  shallops,  or  long  boats,  destined  for  the  landing 
of  the  troops,  had  been  brought  along,  having  been 
taken  apart  and  loaded  in  some  of  the  ships,  because 
they  were  too  bulky  to  be  placed  on  board  entire. 
These  were  now  put  together  here,  completely  fitted  up 
for  the  purpose  they  were  to  serve,  and  takn  in  tow. 
In  this  way  it  had  come  to  be  the  26th  of  March,  on 
which  day  at  last  the  entire  fleet  was  united  and  ready 
to  proceed  to  its  destination.  All  but  one — the  Hollan- 
dia.  This  had  been  expected  for  some  time,  because 
it  could  long  since  have  joined  the  fleet ;  but  even  at 
that  late  day  no  tidings  had  been  received  of  it.  The 
worst  of  it  was  that  this  ship  had  on  board  the  com- 
mander of  the  land  forces  intended  for  operations  on 
shore,  Colonel  Johan  Van  Dorth,  a  young  nobleman, 
who  had  served  with  distinction  in  the  regular  army. 
It  was  afterwards  learned  that  the  vessel  which  carried 
him  had  not  been  able  to  touch  at  St.  Vincent,  but  had 
sailed  on  to  the  coast  of  Sierra  Leone.  Not  willing  to 


92  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

wait  any  longer,  the  admiral  signaled  to  the  fleet  to 
set  sail  again.  -No  one  but  himself,  and  most  likely 
Pete  Hein,  as  yet  knew  the  destination  or  object  of  the 
voyage.  They  sailed  on  for  yet  nearly  an  entire 
month,  when,  on  April  21,  the  admiral  signaled  his 
captains  to  come  on  board  his  flagship  for  a  council  of 
war.  And  now  he  made  known  his  secret  instructions, 
from  which  his  officers  learned  that  they  were  to  steer 
for  San  Salvador  in  order  to  attack  and  capture  it. 
They  were  now  in  latitude  6  degrees  south  and  had, 
therefore,  crossed  the  equator.  The  captains  all 
solemnly  promised  to  stand  by  each  other  and  to  carry 
out  faithfully  the  commands  of  their  employers.  There- 
upon the  fleet  directed  its  course  for  Bahia  de  Todos  os 
Santos,  on  the  Bay  of  All  Saints. 

This  beautiful  bay  lies  some  distance  to  the  south 
of  Pernambuco  and  is  formed  by  an  indentation  of  the 
eastern  coast  of  South  America.  It  is  flanked  on  all 
sides  by  lofty,  beautifully  wooded  hills,  some  of  which 
almost  attain  the  altitude  of  mountains.  Its  entrance 
is  almost  closed  by  an  island,  on  each  side  of  which, 
however,  a  deep  channel  communicates  with  the  ocean. 
Along  its  inner  surface  numerous  islands  lie  scattered 
like  so  many  pearls. 

The  founding  of  the  city  of  Bahia  has  the  following 
romantic  story  attached  to  it.  In  the  year  1510  a  Por- 
tuguese ship,  commanded  by  Captain  Diego  Alvarez 
Correa,  was  wrecked  on  the  coast  near  the  bay  and 
was  plundered  by  a  tribe  of  the  natives  called  the 
-Tupinambas.  They  treated  the  crew  kindly,  but  com- 
pelled them  and  the  captain  to  assist  in  unloading  and 
taking  care  of  the  cargo.  Correa  appears  to  have  won 


PIET  HEIN.  <)3 

their  good  will  quite  readily,  for  they  soon  began  to 
treat  him  with  marked  consideration.  This  was  still 
more  marked  when,  on  one  occasion,  he  gave 
them  an  exhibition  of  the  effect  of  his  fire- 
arms, nothing  like  which  they  had  ever  before 
seen.  As  they  were  one  day  before  the  hut 
of  the  chief  the  Portuguese  fired  his  gun  at  a  bird, 
and  as  it  fell  dead  at  his  feet  the  astonishment  of  the 
natives  found  expression  in  the  name  with  which  they 
at  once  hailed  him,  "Coramuru,"  "The  man  of  Fire." 
In  a  war  which  they  waged  with  another  tribe  they 
made  him  their  commander.  Being  victorious  in  this, 
a  number  of  the  chiefs  offered  him  their  daughters  in 
marriage.  Among  these  there  was  a  maiden  of  re- 
markable beauty,  Paraguassu,  the  daughter  of  the 
Chief  Itaparica.  Correa  having  fixed  his  choice  upon 
her,  one  of  the  priests  he  had  with  him  performed  the 
ceremony  that  linked  the  representative  of  Portugal 
with  the  dusky  daughter  of  Brazil  in  the  sacred  bonds. 
That  he  must  have  been  well  pleased  with  his  choice, 
though  it  had  been  somewhat  compulsory,  was  shown 
by  his  naming  one  of  the  rivers  that  empty  into  the  bay 
after  his  wife,  Paraguassu,  while  to  the  island  at  the 
entrance  of  the  bay  he  gave  her  father's  name,  Itapar- 
ica. Subsequently  he  built  a  city  here  on  the  spot 
where  now  the  Villa  Viega,  or  old  town,  is  situated, 
and  called  it,  in  gratitude  for  his  preservation,  San 
Salvador,  that  is,  St.  Savior.  This  name  is  still  found 
on  some  of  our  maps,  instead  of  that  of  Bahia. 

Not  till  1549  did  the  Portuguese  come  to  recognize 
the  advantageous  location  of  the  bay  and  to  establish 
there  a  regular  colony,  when  the  first  governor-general 


94  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

of  Brazil,  Thomas  de  Souza,  was  sent  out  from  Portu- 
gal and  landed  here.  He  came  with  six  vessels,  on 
board  of  which  were  six  Jesuit  priests,  three  hundred 
colonists  and  several  hundred  convicts.  De  Souza 
laid  out  a  new  city,  built  churches  and  erected  fortifica- 
tions. Within  four  months  four  hundred  houses  were 
built  and  numerous  sugar  plantations  established. 
After  that  San  Salvador,  or,  as  we  more  generally  call 
it  now,  Bahia,  was  regarded  as  the  capital  of  Portu- 
guese America.  It  is  still  reckoned  as  the  second  larg- 
est city  in  Brazil,  having  a  population  of  about  160,- 
ooo.  It  is  really  made  up  of  two  towns,  the  upper 
and  the  lower,  called  respectively  "Cidada  Alta"  and 
"Cidada  Baxa."  At  the  time  of  the  expedition  of  which 
we  write,  only  the  upper  town  was  in  existence,  while 
the  warehouses  were  built  along  the  shore.  The  de- 
fences of  the  city  consisted  of  the  forts  San  Antonio 
and  Tagapipe,  located  on  the  horns  of  the  bay  on 
which  the  city  fronted,  besides  three  stone  redoubts, 
one  close  by  the  city,  another  between  this  and  fort 
Tagapipe,  and  the  third  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
warehouses.  The  city  was  the  residence  of  the  gov- 
ernor-general and  the  seat  of  the  Supreme  Court  and 
of  the  archbishop  of  Brazil.  It  contained  about  1,400 
houses,  two  churches,  several  monasteries  and  a  Jesuit 
college.  Its  garrison  was  composed  of  550  regulars-, 
beides  1,000  natives  drilled  according  to  European, 
tactics.  Lying  directly  within  the  tropics,  the  country 
is  rich  in  abundant  vegetation  and  luscious  fruits.  The 
scene,  as  one  enters  the  bay,  is  one  of  exquisite  beauty, 
the  more  picturesque  and  delightful  to  those  who 
have,  perhaps,  for  weeks  and  months  seen  nothing 


PIET   HEIN.  95 

but  sea  and  sky.  The  sailors  on  board  of  the  Dutch 
fleet  must  have  been  filled  with  rapture  and  delight  as 
the  magnificent  panorama  came  in  sight,  for  it  was 
nearly  eighteen  weeks  since  they  had  left  home,  and 
they  had  not  touched  land  since  leaving  the  Cape 
Verde  Islands.  On  the  8th  of  May,  1624,  they  dropped 
anchor  here  about  nine  miles  from  shore.  From  where 
they  lay  they  had  a  view  of  the  high  peaks  of  the 
Sierra  Grande,  appearing,  in  the  far  distance  more 
like  blue,  hazy  clouds  than  like  mountain  tops.  Nearer 
by  stood  out,  sharp  and  clear,  the  foreland  of  San 
Salvador,  resplendent  with  an  even  deeper  green  than 
that  of  the  island  Itaparica  that  partly  lifted  itself  out 
of  the  bay.  Between  this  and  the  promontory,  the 
one  threatening  with  batteries,  the  other  with  the 
guns  of  fort  San  Antonio,  they  were  to  enter  on 
the  morrow  armed  for  the  fray. 

We  must  not  forget  that  the  entrance  under  the 
conditions  prevailing  in  that  day  was  something  far 
different  from  what  it  would  be  nowadays,  now  that 
every  ship  is  supplied  with  the  best  of  topographical 
maps  descriptive  of  the  countries,  coasts  and  seas  it 
is  to  visit,  and  that  at  every  dangerous  point  in  the 
navigable  waters  buoys  are  placed,  while  at  night  the 
beacons  are  blazing  along  the  shores.  In  the  year  1624 
there  was  in  those  seas  little  or  nothing  of  the  sort. 
When  the  Dutch  fleet  was  ready  to  enter  the  bay  it 
had  to  feel  its  way,  and,  while  exposed  to  the  fires  of 
the  forts  and  batteries,  run  the  additional  risk  of  run- 
ning upon  some  rock  or  sandbank.  It  is  even  doubt- 
ful if  any  of  the  captains  of  the  fleet  had  ever  been 
there  before,  and  if  they  had  they  would  have  been 


96  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

compelled  to  rely  upon  their  memory  for  the  locality 
of  the  channels  and  the  general  topography  of  the 
bay. 

The  commander  of  the  land  forces,  Colonel  van 
Dorth,  was  still  absent;  nothing  had  been  heard  of 
the  Hollandia,  which  was  to  have  brought  him.  Where 
this  vessel  could  be  was  an  insoluble  enigma.  But  for 
this  they  could  not  wait.  At  a  council  of  war  held 
during  the  night  it  was  determined  to  begin  the  attack 
on  the  next  morning.  The  plan  was  to  begin  with  a 
landing  near  fort  San  Antonio.  For  this  purpose  all 
the  land  forces  were  transferred  to  four  of  the  largest 
ships  and  one  yacht.  These,  as  they  entered  the  bay, 
were  to  anchor  close  by  the  fort,  while  the  rest  of  the 
fleet  sailed  farther  up  the  bay,  as  if  with  the  inten- 
tion of  attacking  the  city  from  two  sides  at  once.  Of 
course  this  was  not  done  without  an  effort  on  the  part 
of  the  Spaniards  to  prevent  the  movement  of  the  fleet ; 
but  the  guns  of  fort  San  Antonio  were  either  placed 
so  high  or  aimed  so  badly  that  they  never  hurt  nor 
even  hit  any  one  of  the  ships  as  they  sailed  on  to 
their  assigned  positions.  The  seven  large  shallops 
which  have  been  mentioned  before,  and  which  were 
intended  to  carry  the  troops  from  the  ships  to  the 
shore,  were  first  taken  in  tow  by  the  fleet  and  carried 
a  good  distance  up  the  bay.  But  this  was  also  only 
a  ruse  and  intended  to  give  the  Spaniards  the  impres- 
sion that  the  ships  anchored  yonder  near  fort  San 
Antonio  would  be  of  little  consequence  and  that  the 
main  shock  was  to  be  expected  from  directly  in  front 
of  the  city  itself.  But  the  admiral  had  announced 
that  he  would  hoist  a  flag  from  the  forepeak  of  his 


PIET  HEIN.  97 

ship,  at  which  signal  the  seven  sloops  were  to  be 
manned  and  instantly  to  row  to  the  Spanish  ships 
lying  before  the  fort  and  to  begin  the  fight  there  first. 
Meanwhile  the  main  part  of  the  fleet  sailed  on  to  the 
roadstead.  No  sooner  had  the  enemy  seen  this  fleet, 
flying  the  despised  and  hated  flag  of  the  Republic, 
coming  around  from  behind  the  cape  into  the  open 
waters  of  the  bay,  than  fort  Tagapipe  opened  upon 
them  with  a  terrific  fire,  which,  as  they  approached 
nearer,  was  followed  by  that  from  one  of  the  stone 
redoubts,  and  this  again  by  a  strong  battery  carrying 
eleven  guns.  But  the  Hollanders  calmly  sailed  on, 
without  answering  the  hostile  fire  with  a  single  shot, 
until  they  had  reached  the  position  before  selected. 
Pete  Hein  was  in  the  lead  with  three  ships,  the  Gelder- 
land,  his  flagship,  the  Groningen  and  the  Nassau,  and 
kept  his  course  till  he  was  but  a  musket  shot  from  the 
above  mentioned  battery  and  within  close  range  of  the 
Spanish  ships,  which,  to  the  number  of  fifteen,  lay 
close  in  shore  with  fort  San  Filippo  on  their  larboard. 
This  was  about  one  in  the  afternoon.  Instantly  on 
reaching  this  position  Pete  Hein  opens  fire  and  begins 
a  fight  of  great  fury  that  lasted  till  seven  o'clock  in 
the  evening.  Seeing  that  but  little  can  be  accomplished 
in  this  way,  however,  and  that  his  flagship,  which  was 
nearest  the  enemy,  is  for  a  time  disabled,  while  the 
other  two  are  also  suffering  terribly  from  the  hostile 
guns,  he  orders  a  number  of  boats  to  be  manned  each 
with  twenty  men,  which  are  sent  off  to  board  fcKe 
Spanish  ships.  This  plan  met  with  the  fullest  suc- 
cess; for  as  soon  as  the  Spaniards  saw  the  Dutch 
sailors  with  utter  fearlessness  clamber  over  their  bul- 


9*  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

warks  a  panic  seemed  to  seize  them,  so  that  they 
abandoned  their  ships  in  all  haste.  To  one  of  the 
largest,  however,  they  hurriedly  set  fire,  which  soon 
was  ablaze,  and  communicated  its  fire  to  three  others, 
so  that  all  four  became  a  prey  to  the  flames.  Lest  this 
should  also  become  the  fate  of  the  remainder,  the  gal- 
lant Dutch  sailors,  regardless  of  the  firing  from  the 
shore,  went  among  them  and  succeeded  in  dragging 
eight  of  them  off  from  under  the  very  walls  of  the 
city,  and  carried  them  triumphantly  to  the  main  body 
of  the  fleet.  This  successful  exploit,  in  which  the 
brave  captain  of  the  Groningen  died  the  death  of  he- 
roes, encouraged  Pete  Hein  to  follow  up  his  victory. 
He  therefore  equipped  fourteen  boats,  each  again  with 
twenty  men,  to  attack  the  battery  that  had  given  them 
more  trouble  than  either  the  fort  or  the  guns  of  the 
ships.  This  was  very  strongly  built  of  granite  and 
stood  some  distance  out  from  shore,  rising  about  nine 
feet  out  of  the  water,  and,  as  said  above,  carried 
eleven  guns  and  was  defended  by  from  five  to  six  hun- 
dred troops.  Formidable  as  it  appeared,  both  in  iself 
and  in  the  number  of  its  defenders,  it  did  not  intimi- 
date the  bold  Hollanders,  for  undaunted  by  the  inces- 
sant fire  from  its  guns  and  from  the  muskets  of  its 
defending  soldiers,  the  boats  rowed  straight  toward 
their  object.  The  first  to  land  and  to  climb  up  the 
wall  of  the  battery  was  a  bugler,  who,  as  soon  as  he 
reached  the  parapet,  took  his  trumpet  and  gaily  blew 
the  national  air,  "Wilhelmus  van  Nassauwen,"  the 
first  national  hymn  of  Holland,  and  which  has  so  often 
led  her  soldiers  and  sailors  to  victory.  Pete  Hein  was 
the  second,  hard  upon  the  heels  of  his  trumpeter, 


PIET   HEIN.  99 

closely  followed  by  the  rest  of  his  men,  who,  climbing 
on  each  other's  shoulders,  and  with  their  boathooks 
seizing  the  edges  of  the  parapets,  dragged  themselves 
up  on  the  wall.  This  kind  of  attack  was  so  utterly 
contrary  to  the  Spaniards'  ideas  of  regular  warfare 
that  they  scarcely  made  a  stand,  apparently  wholly 
disdaining  to  engage  in  a  combat  so  at  variance  with 
all  military  tactics.  So,  after  a  slight  show  of  resist- 
ance, in  which  a  few  of  their  men  were  cut  down,  they 
left  their  stronghold  in  hot  haste,  though  they  were 
nearly  two  to  one.  They  fled  through  the  water  to  the 
shore;  but  here  their  officers  forced  them  to  make  a 
stand  and  to  open  fire  again  upon  their  assailants. 
Since  this  water-redoubt  was  of  course  open  toward 
the  shore  and  its  guns  were  not  pointed  in  that  direc- 
tion, Pete  Hein  and  his  men  were  harassed  rather  more 
than  they  liked  by  this  fire.  But  our  hero  was  a  man 
of  ready  wit  and  resource.  If  the  guns  of  the  redoubt 
when  turned  upon  the.  Dutch  seemed  to  be  capable  of 
doing  but  little  execution,  he  concluded  to  try  whether 
they  could  not  do  more  upon  their  former  owners. 
He  therefore  ordered  his  men  to  turn  two  of  them 
upon  the  enemy,  and  with  these  he  thundered  away  at 
them  in  such  tremendous  fashion  that  they  speedily 
ceased  their  own  fire  and  again  sought  safety  in  the 
nimbleness  of  their  feet.  Since,  however,  the  night 
had  now  fallen  and  his  men  were  wellnigh  worn  out 
with  fatigue,  and  since,  above  all,  their  powder  was 
nearly  all  used  up,  the  vice-admiral  thought  it  advis- 
able to  return  to  his  ships.  Therefore,  spiking  the 
guns  that  had  been  so  easily  captured,  they  returned 
to  the  fleet  for  their  well-earned  rest  so  as  to  be  ready 


100  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

to  renew  the  game  in  the  morning.  In  this  last  fight, 
which  had  lasted  only  from  seven  to  eight  in  the  even- 
ing and  that  had  been  so  glorious  for  these  Beggars 
of  the  Sea,  as  the  Spaniards  still  called  them,  only 
four  men  had  lost  their  lives,  among  whom  was  the 
bugler  who  had  been  the  first  to  mount  the  walls. 
Meanwhile  the  greatest  consternation  and  dismay 
reigned  in  the  city.  The  inhabitants  did  not  dare  to 
await  the  break  of  day,  but,  leaving  everything  behind, 
fled  in  utter  confusion  during  the  night  to  the 
neighboring  forests  and  nearby  places  of  refuge.  The 
foremost  of  these  was  Archbishop  Teixeira,  who, 
followed  by  six  hundred  troops,  sought  and  found  a 
hiding  place  in  the  woods.  The  governor,  Don  Fur- 
tado  de  Mendoga,  saw  as  well  as  the  rest  that  every- 
thing was  lost,  but  thought  it  contemptible  and  beneath 
the  dignity  of  a  nobleman  to  take  French  leave,  as  the 
archbishop  had  done,  and  remained  in  the  city  accom- 
panied only  by  his  son  and  a  few  of  his  suite. 

When  the  next  morning  the  Dutch  land  troops  ad- 
vanced to  the  city  gate  with  a  few  field-pieces  to  bom- 
bard and  destroy  it,  they  observed  some  one  above  the 
walls  with  a  flag  of  truce.  Of  him  they  learned  that 
all  the  garrison  and  most  of  the  inhabitants  had  fled 
and  that,  therefore,  they  could  enter  the  city,  if  they 
chose,  as  there  was  no  one  to  oppose  them.  But,  ap- 
prehensive of  a  possible  ambuscade,  the  Dutch  entered 
the  city  in  regular  battle  order.  Here  not  a  mortal 
was  to  be  seen  in  the  streets  till  they  arrived  at  the 
plaza,  or  city  square,  where  they  beheld  the  governor 
and  his  son  disgracefully  left  in  the  lurch  by  their 


PJET   HEIN.  101 

cowardly  people.  These  were,  of  course,  made  pris- 
oners. 

Pete  Hein  had  also  made  preparations  for  another 
attack,  early  in  the  morning.  He,  therefore,  manned 
his  boats  again  as  the  day  before  and  landed  directly 
in  front  of  the  city.  But  when  he  set  foot  on  shore, 
meeting  with  no  opposition,  he  learned  that  the  city 
was  already  in  the  hands  of  his  countrymen,  whom  he 
at  once  joined.  The  fear  and  dismay  of  the  Spaniards 
had  been  so  great  that  they  had  even  abandoned  the 
forts,  among  them  also  San  Antonio,  so  that  the  Hol- 
landers had  nothing  more  to  do  there  than  to  enter  it. 
Only  the  garrison  of  fort  Tagapipe  had  fired  a  few 
shots  in  the  morning,  but  when  these  also  learned  that 
the  city  was  taken  they  ran  from  their  stronghold  as 
fast  as  their  feet  could  carry  them. 

When  the  Dutch  soldiers  and  sailors  found  the  city 
entirely  in  their  power  they  at  once  fell  to  the  work 
of  plundering;  they  fairly  threw  themselves  into  the 
rich  counting-houses  and  warehouses,  seizing  upon 
everything  within  their  reach,  while  a  vast  deal  was 
squandered  or  destroyed.  Alart  Schouten,  who  in  the 
absence  of  van  Dorth  had  command  of  the  troops,  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  the  proper  person  to  restrain 
his  men  or  to  maintain  discipline  among  them.  How- 
ever, as  soon  as  the  admiral  became  aware  of  the  con- 
duct of  the  soldiers  he  himself  took  measures  to  put 
an  end  to  the  plundering  and  confusion,  and  to  gather 
up  the  costly  wares  they  had  scattered  about  as  well 
as  to  secure  everything  of  value.  The  booty  secured 
was  the  greater,  as  the  governor,  Mendoga,  had  for- 
bidden the  citizens  to  carry  anything  out  of  the  city, 


102  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

by  which  means  he  had  hoped  to  prevent  the  flight 
both  of  them  and  the  garrison  and  to  keep  them  within 
the  walls  to  defend  the  city.  The  Jesuit  college  had 
been  considered  the  most  suitable  and  safest  place  in 
which  to  hide  the  valuable  goods  from  the  warehouses 
and  stores.  From  this  were  taken,  besides  linen, 
woolen  and  silk  goods,  3,900  chests  of  sugar  and  a 
great  quantity  of  tobacco,  whale  oil  and  wine.  Forty- 
nine  cannon  were  also  captured  with  the  city,  besides 
those  in  the  forts  and  other  external  defenses. 

Where,  meanwhile,  was  Colonel  van  Dorth,  whose 
troops,  without  their  commander,  had  so  easily  entered 
the  city  and  had  found  little  more  to  do  there  than  to 
make  prisoners  of  the  governor  with  his  son  and 
suite  ?  We  have  seen  that  he  could  not  reach  the  Cape 
Verde  Islands  and  had  sailed  on  to  Sierra  Leone.  This 
he  left  on  March  25,  and  on  the  loth  of  April  came  in 
sight  of  the  Brazilian  coast  at  about  latitude  14°  south, 
thus  not  far  from  where  his  countrymen  had  been  so 
successfully  engaged.  On  the  I3th  he  captured  a 
slaver  full  of  negroes,  the  captain  of  which  he  took 
prisoner,  but  let  the  ship  go  whither  it  would.  Fol- 
lowing his  course  he  discovered  the  southern  point  of 
the  island  of  Itaparica.  Getting  no  sight  here  of  the 
fleet,  he  kept  beating  back  and  forth  in  this  neighbor- 
hood, hoping  some  time  or  other,  and  that  soon,  to 
meet  the  admiral  and  the  rest  of  his  countrymen. 
It  may  seem  singular,  as  it  certainly  was  unfortunate 
for  van  Dorth,  that  they  did  not  get  sight  of  each 
other,  t>ut  the  ships  operating  against  San  Salvador 
were  both  too  far  within  the  bay  and  too  busily  em- 
ployed for  an  outlook  from  any  of  them  to  get  sight 


PIET   HEIN.  I«3 

of  their  comrade.  At  last,  on  the  loth  of  May,  only 
a  day  after  the  city  had  been  taken,  van  Dorth  deter- 
mined to  run  the  risk  and  to  enter  the  bay  alone.  This 
proves  that  both  he  and  the  captain  of  the  Hollandia 
were  also  men  of  mettle,  for  it  was  no  slight  feat  to 
enter  thus  all  alone  a  harbor  which  might  be  full  of 
hostile  ships.  But  he  enters,  turns  the  corner  of  Cape 
San  Antonio,  passes  the  fort  of  the  same  name  located 
there  without  a  shot  being  fired  at  him,  and,  to  his 
utter  amazement,  beholds  the  flag  of  his  country  flying 
not  only  from  the  fleet  which  he  had  sought  so  long, 
but  from  the  forts  and  the  city.  And  no  less  must 
have  been  his  astonishment  when  he  learned  in  what 
manner  the  city  had  been  taken.  Van  Dorth,  of  course, 
at  once  assumed  command  of  the  troops,  restored  dis- 
cipline among  them,  repaired  and  strengthened  the 
fortifications  and  sought  by  every  means  to  induce  the 
inhabitants  to  return.  In  this,  however,  he  met  with 
but  indifferent  success  owing  to  the  determined  op- 
position of  Teixeira,  the  archbishop.  But  shortly 
after  his  arrival  and  before  all  his  plans  could  be  car- 
ried out,  death  intervened,  leaving  the  command  again 
to  the  incapable,  if  courageous,  Alart  Schouten,  a  fact 
which  was  followed  by  sad  consequences.  For  no 
sooner  had  the  fleet  started  on  its  return  voyage  carry- 
ing the  valuable  booty  to  Holland,  which  they  did  soon 
after  the  beginning  of  summer,  but  the  confusion,  dis- 
order and  insubordination  among  the  troops  left  to 
hold  the  city  began  anew,  with  the  result  that  when 
in  the  following  year  a  strong  Spanish  fleet  arrived 
for  the  recapture  of  the  city  the  Dutch  troops  were 
found  almost  as  little  disposed  to  do  battle  for  the  re- 


104  NAVAL    HEROES   OF   HOLLAND. 

tention  of  the  city  as  the  original  garrison  had  been 
the  year  before  to  prevent  its  capture.  Had  they 
shown  anything  like  the  courage  and  bravery  which 
marked  their  sailor  countrymen  under  Pete  Hein  in 
the  attack  on  the  forts  and  city  the  preceding  year,  the 
Spaniards  might  have  been  beaten  off  and  the  city 
have  remained  in  the  possession  of  the  Dutch. 

This  recapture  of  the  city,  nevertheless,  led  to  a 
still  more  daring  exploit  on  the  part  of  Pete  Hein. 
When  the  West  India  Company  learned  that  Spain 
had  fitted  out  and  dispatched  a  fleet  for  the  recapture 
of  San  Salvador,  they  also  sent  out  a  strong  force  to 
the  assistance  of  their  troops  in  Bahia.  But  this  did 
not  arrive  till  May  24,  while  the  city  had  surrendered 
a  month  before,  April  25,  1625.  Had  Pete  Hein  been 
in  command  of  this  expedition  a  determined  effort 
would  doubtless  have  been  made  to  wrest  the  city 
again  from  the  grasp  of  the  Spaniards.  But  the  pres- 
ent commander  seems  not  to  have  been  cast  in  the 
same  heroic  mould.  He  came,  he  saw  and — went 
home.  But  before  that  fleet  had  completed  its  return 
voyage  Pete  Hein  was  put  in  command  of  another  by 
the  Company  and  set  sail  on  May  26,  1626.  The  ob- 
ject of  this  was  to  join  the  fleet  sent  out  the  preceding 
year,  revictual  it,  then  together  to  cruise  up  and  down 
for  the  capture  of  the  silver  fleet.  They  never  made 
the  junction,  however;  for  when  Pete  Hein  reached 
the  island  of  Guadaloupe,  one  of  those  small  islands 
lying  eastward  of  the  Caribbean  Sea,  he  learned  that 
the  other  fleet  had  already  sailed  homeward,  that  its 
admiral  was  dead,  and  the  crews  had  mutinied.  He 
was  thus  left  alone  with  his  small  squadron  of  nine 


PIET    HEIN.  105 

ships  and  five  yachts.  With  such  an  insignificant  force 
it  would  have  been  folly  to  attack  the  strongly  con- 
voyed silver  fleet  even  if  he  caught  sight  of  it.  Still 
he  would  not  return  without  accomplishing  something, 
and  therefore  determined  to  watch  for  the  silver  fleet 
and  try  to  capture  one  and  another  of  some  of  its  slow- 
est sailers.  But  even  this  could  not  be  done.  One  morn- 
ing nine  ships,  evidently  Spanish,  appeared  in  sight, 
and  Pete  Hein  was  all  ready  to  pounce  upon  them, 
when,  as  the  morning  advanced,  more  ships  appeared 
one  after  another  on  the  horizon,  until  they  numbered 
no  less  than  forty-two.  Alas !  he  had  to  keep  his  hands 
off  of  them,  though  it  was  no  other  than  the  silver 
fleet.  All  he  could  secure  was  a  couple  of  small  ves- 
sels laden  with  hides  and  meal.  The  Spaniards  made 
no  effort  to  attack  him  either,  and  with  apparently 
good  reason,  for  when  one  has  his  pockets  full  of  gold 
and  other  precious  ware,  one  is  in  not  much  of  a  mood 
for  fighting,  but  will  rather  do  his  best  to  get  home 
with  his  treasure. 

Pete  Hein  now  steered  for  the  African  coast,  and  in 
January,  1627,  came  to  anchor  near  Sierra  Leone  to 
secure  provisions.  This  done,  he  set  sail  again. 
Homewards?  No;  to  return  almost  empty-handed 
and  without  having  done  anything  of  importance  was 
not  in  accordance  with  his  make-up.  To  Brazil,  to 
San  Salvador,  once  more !  Capturing  a  couple  of  ves- 
sels again  on  the  way,  he  reached  the  place  of  his 
former  exploit  on  the  northeastern  coast  of  Brazil. 
Without  any  deliberation  he  instantly  entered  the  bay, 
careless  of  what  Spanish  fleet  might  lie  there,  and 
sailed  on  till  directly  opposite  fort  San  Antonio,  but 


106  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

out  of  reach  of  her  guns.  The  wind  being  contrary 
and  the  ebb  carrying  the  tide  out  of  the  bay,  he  was 
forced  to  cast  anchor.  As  soon  as  the  floodtide  came 
again  the  anchors  were  lifted,  and  the  little  fleet  sailed 
boldly  up  the  bay  till  immediately  facing  the  city.  As 
was  learned  afterwards,  the  enemy's  fleet  in  the  bay 
numbered  no  less  than  twenty-six  ships.  And  Pete 
Hein  had  just  nine,  besides  five  insignificant  yachts. 
But  to  him  this  mattered  little.  In  time  of  war  much 
depends  upon  daring  and  intrepid  action.  And  in  this 
our  hero  was  past  master.  It  is  needless  to  say  that 
as  soon  as  the  little  Dutch  fleet  hove  in  sight  the  game 
began,  the  balls  flying  about  the  Hollander's  ears  from 
every  fort  and  every  hostile  ship.  Pete  Hein  is  again 
in  the  lead,  followed  by  only  two  of  his  other  ships, 
because  the  rest  had  gotten  too  far  below  the  wind 
and  could  not  join  him  just  then.  He  steers  again 
straight  for  the  stone  fort,  which  he  had  so  gallantly 
captured  in  the  attack  of  a  couple  of  years  before. 
This,  as  will  be  remembered,  rose  directly  out  of  the 
water,  and  left  space  enough  between  it  and  the  shore 
for  several  vessels.  It  was  there  that  the  Spanish  ad- 
miral and  vice-admiral  were  lying.  Pete  Hein  sails 
straight  between  this  fort  and  the  shore  and  places 
his  three  vessels  between  those  two.  The  fight  begun 
now  was  terrific.  It  was  not  long,  however,  before  the 
vice-admiral's  ship  was  sent  to  the  bottom  with  all  on 
board.  They  had  no  rapid-fire  guns,  those  old  Dutch- 
men, but  they  were  very  rapid  in  handling  what  they 
had:  they  were  themselves  the  rapid-firing  machines. 
The  Spaniards  of  the  sinking  ship  are  crying  for 
mercy,  but  the  din  of  the  combatants  on  the  other 


PIET  HEIN.  107 

ships,  the  roar  of  the  cannon  and  the  rattle  of  musketry 
is  so  great  that  they  are  not  heard.  During  the  fight 
Pete  Hein  keeps  his  eye  on  everything.  He  sees  the 
rest  of  his  little  fleet  looking  idly  on  yonder,  buffeting 
against  wind  and  sea.  He  sets  his  signals,  "If  you 
can't  come  with  the  ships,  send  your  boats  down  and 
take  hold  of  those  other  fellows  here.  Stir  yourselves 
and  do  something,  too,  please."  This  is  done; 
the  boats  of  the  rest  of  the  fleet  are  manned,  and  with 
strong  and  swift  strokes  they  row  at  the  rest  of  the 
Spaniards.  But  these  seemed  to  be  seized  with  a  panic 
and,  after  but  slight  and  brief  resistance,  they  begin  to 
leap  overboard,  until  every  vessel  is  deserted,  a  number 
of  the  cowardly  enemy  finding  their  graves  in  the  bay, 
while  others  are  fortunate  enough  to  save  themselves 
by  swimming  to  shore.  In  this  way  no  less  than 
twenty-two  ships  were  captured  and  dragged  from  the 
harbor  down  the  bay  to  the  Dutch  fleet.  Meanwhile 
Pete  Hein  is  still  engaged  with  the  Spanish  admiral 
and  the  remnant  of  his  fleet ;  but  it  was  not  long  be- 
fore here  also  the  victory  was  gained  and  every  gun 
of  the  enemy's  ships  silenced.  It  was  getting  time 
now,  however,  to  get  away  from  the  fire  of  the  forts 
and  batteries,  from  which,  as  well  as  from  that  of  the 
hostile  fleet,  the  little  wooden  vessels  of  the  Hollanders 
had  suffered  immensely.  But  while  manoeuvring  to 
accomplish  this  Pete  Hein's  own  ship  and  one  other 
get  aground.  The  position  was  a  very  hazardous  one, 
exposed  as  they  were  to  the  cross  fire  of  the  batteries. 
The  other  ship,  the  Gelria,  soon  was  afloat  again  and 
was  gotten  out  of  reach,  but  that  of  Pete  Hein  seemed 
to  be  immovable.  It  was  a  perilous  moment,  the  more 


108  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

as  about  this  time  another  of  his  vessels,  the  Orange 
Tree,  by  some  mischance  was  blown  up  in  sight  of 
the  flagship,  with  fifty-six  men,  of  whom  but  fourteen 
were  saved.  From  the  shore  batteries  and  the  forts 
it  was  raining  shot  at  the  now  helpless  Dutch  admiral, 
and  the  Spaniards  were  already  shouting  with  exulta- 
tion at  the  expected  capture  of  their  daring  assailant. 
But  in  this  they  reckoned  without  their  host.  With- 
out paying  any  attention  to  the  hail  of  shot  falling 
about  them,  all  hands  set  to  with  boats,  cables  and  an- 
chors to  get  the  flagship  afloat,  pulling,  hauling  and 
warping;  but  all  in  vain.  And  even  if  they  succeeded 
in  getting  it  off  the  rocks  it  seemed  as  if  it  must  surely 
sink,  as  it  had  been  almost  completely  shot  to  pieces. 
The  Spaniards  were  now  surer  than  ever  of  taking  not 
only  the  ship,  but  the  admiral  and  his  men.  But  Pete 
Hein  was  not  the  man  to  let  himself  be  captured  or  to 
surrender  to  the  hated  enemy.  When  every  effort  to 
save  the  ship  proved  fruitless,  he  cried,  "All  hands 
into  the  boats;  set  fire  to  the  ship,  and  let  us  get  out 
of  this."  What  boats  were  still  whole  were  instantly 
manned,  the  vessel  was  set  on  fire,  and,  as  the  flames 
were  bursting  from  all  sides  »f  the  ship  and  the  fiery 
tongues  were  devouring  her  rigging,  a  blazing  sacrifice 
to  the  fatherland,  the  commander  and  his  crew  row  off 
to  the  little  fleet  which  lies  at  a  distance  waiting  for 
them,  safely  out  of  reach  of  the  batteries.  There  were 
no  guns  in  those  days  that  could  send  their  shot  some 
ten  or  twelve  miles,  as  can  be  done  to-day. 

All  this  had  been  accomplished  inside  of  three  or 
four  hours.  The  battle  was  ended  for  the  present,  as 
they  had  not  force  enough  to  capture  the  city,  and  the 


PIET    HEIN.  109 

bold  Dutch  sailors  congratulated  each  other  on  the  re- 
sult, as  well  they  might. 

The  following  days  were  employed  in  unloading 
the  captured  ships.  They  contained  some  three  thou- 
sand chests  of  sugar,  besides  a  large  quantity  of  cotton 
and  dyestuffs.  Everything  was  at  once  shipped  off 
to  the  fatherland,  and  the  fleet  was  again  gotten  ready 
to  sail.  In  the  latter  part  of  March  Pete  Hein  left  the 
bay  of  San  Salvador  and  steered  southward.  His  first 
plan  now  was  to  make  an  attempt  against  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  but,  hearing  that  but  little  booty  was  to  be 
gained  there,  he  entered  upon  another  project.  Divid- 
ing his  small  force  into  three  parts,  he  commanded  one 
part  to  cruise  before  the  bay  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  to  watch 
for  any  possible  Spanish  ship  valuable  enough  to  pay 
for  the  trouble  of  taking  it;  the  second  he  sent  down 
for  the  same  purpose  to  Rio  de  la  Plata,  and  himself 
went  back  with  the  rest  to  the  Bay  of  All  Saints.  It 
was  not  long  before  the  people  of  San  Salvador  saw 
the  dreaded  admiral  once  more  before  their  city;  but, 
alas!  out  of  reach  of  their  cannon.  In  front  of  the 
city  lay  a  few  unloaded  ships  which  he  did  not  think 
it  worth  while  to  disturb,  but  sailed  on  till  under  the 
very  guns  of  the  batteries.  Letting  these  fire  away 
to  their  heart's  content,  he  set  out  first  to  capture  a 
couple  of  vessels  which  seemed  worth  the  taking  and 
which  had  imagined  themselves  safe  by  taking  refuge 
under  the  friendly  guns  on  shore.  But  Pete  Hein  sent 
out  a  few  boats  full  of  men,  who  drove  the  crews  over 
the  gunwales,  or  took  them  prisoners,  after  which 
the  cargoes  were  taken  out  and  the  empty  vessels 
burned.  All  this  under  the  constant  fire  of  the  bat- 


110  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

teries!  The  Spaniards  must  have  come  to  think  by 
this  time  that  these  beggarly  Dutchmen  carried 
charmed  lives.  This  done,  he  sailed  down  the  bay  out 
of  reach,  and  for  the  night  remained  at  anchor. 

While  the  above  was  going  on  a  couple  of  light- 
draft  vessels  had  been  sent  out  to  reconnoitre  the 
shores  of  the  upper  bay  to  see  whether  here  or  there 
some  ship  might  not  'be  hidden  among  the  overhanging 
foliage  of  one  or  other  stream  emptying  into  the  bay. 
These  had  the  good  fortune  to  fall  in  with  a  boat 
manned  by  sixteen  Spaniards,  who,  influenced  by  the 
gentle  persuasion  so  much  in  vogue  among  enemies 
in  those  days,  told  that  four  sugar-laden  vessels  had 
sailed  farther  up  the  bay  and  had  taken  refuge  in  one 
of  the  numerous  rivers.  When  this  was  reported,  Pete 
Hein  naturally  determined  to  get  hold  of  those  sugar- 
bowls,  if  possible.  But  where  were  they  hidden — in 
what  river?  There  are  so  many  creeks  and  streams 
up  yonder  in  which  a  vessel  might  easily  be  stowed 
away  out  of  sight.  Many  circumstances,  however, 
seemed  to  indicate  that  they  would  most  likely  be 
found  in  the  river  Patinga.  In  this  direction,  there- 
fore, a  couple  of  yachts  and  some  armed  boats  were 
sent  out  to  find  those  ships  with  their  sweet  cargoes, 
to  attack  and  capture  them.  Pete  Hein,  of  course,  re- 
mained on  board  his  flagship.  An  admiral  does  not 
usually  accompany  such  a  subordinate  expedition.  The 
little  squadron  sailed  and  rowed  up  the  bay  close  by 
the  shore,  arrived  at  the  small  bend  into  which  the 
Patinga  empties,  entered  and  boldly  went  up  the  river. 
Proceeding  slowly  and  cautiously  they  followed  the 
windings  of  the  stream  for  nearly  four  hours  without 


PIET  HEIN.  It  I 

discovering  anything,  when,  at  last,  in  a  bend  of  the 
river  and  almost  hidden  by  the  luxuriant  tropical 
growth  of  trees  and  shrubbery,  they  caught  sight  of 
their  prey.  There  were  two  of  them — vessels  of  con- 
siderable size.  The  Hollanders  tried  to  get  alongside 
so  as  to  board  the  Spaniards,  but  these  hauled  their 
vessels  higher  up  the  stream,  where  their  enemies 
were  reluctant  to  follow  them  on  account  of  their  ig- 
norance of  the  locality,  and  gave  up  the  attempt.  Thus, 
without  accomplishing  what  they  were  sent  out  to  do, 
they  returned  and  reported  to  the  admiral.  This  was 
not  very  much  to  the  taste  of  Pete  Hein,  to  set  about 
doing  a  thing  and  then  to  give  it  up  without  so  much 
as  trying.  He  did  not  give  the  reporters  of  the  failure 
a  very  kind  reception,  and  when  one  of  the  officers  of 
the  little  expedition  asserted  that  it  was  impossible  to 
take  those  ships  up  in  yonder  river,  he  cried,  "Non- 
sense, everything  is  possible  if  you  only  think  so.  I'll 
go  myself  to-morrow  and  see  if  those  fellows  can't 
be  dragged  out  of  their  nest."  Even  he,  however,  did 
not  find  the  job  quite  as  easy  as  breathing.  The  Span- 
iards had  dragged  the  two  ships  into  a  creek  emptying 
into  the  Patinga.  When  Pete  Hein  and  his  little  flo- 
tilla reached  this  creek  he  found  that  the  enemy  had 
received  strong  reinforcements.  A  hundred  and  fifty 
soldiers  had  been  sent  from  the  city  to  help  the  crews 
of  the  ships.  These  troops  were  placed  in  such  position 
and  were  so  well  commanded  that  it  seemed  for  a 
while  as  if  even  now  the  Dutch  would  fail  in  their 
undertaking.  Twice  they  were  repulsed;  but  in  the 
third  attack  Pete  Hein,  setting  his  teeth  and  exclaim- 
ing, "Now  it  has  to  go !"  led  his  men  in  such  a  furious 


1 12  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

assault  that  sailors  and  soldiers  took  to  their  heels 
and  left  the  ships  in  the  possession  of  their  assailants. 
Going  farther  up  this  creek,  two  more  vessels  were 
found,  whose  sailors  jumped  overboard  as  soon  as 
they  saw  the  Hollanders  approaching.  These  also 
proved  to  be  of  considerable  value,  being  laden  with 
tobacco  and  sugar.  Returning  now  to  the  river,  they 
ascended  this  still  farther  and  presently  perceived  two 
more  ships  lying  up  the  stream  and  beyond  them  still 
another.  Access  to  these  had,  however,  been  rendered 
impossible;  for  the  enemy  had  cut  down  some  large 
trees  on  each  bank  of  the  river  in  such  a  way  that 
they  were  hanging  over  the  stream  so  as  to  be  easily 
hurled  upon  the  Dutch  boats  and  crush  them  if  they 
should  attempt  to  pass  farther  up.  It  was  determined 
therefore  to  return  with  the  booty  already  obtained. 
And  it  was  in  this  return  down  the  river  that  Pete 
Hein  showed  himself  a  man  of  skill  and  resource,  and 
not  a  mere  hair-brained  dare-devil.  He  comprehended 
that  the  enemy,  being  master  of  both  banks  of  the 
river,  would  do  everything  possible  to  prevent  the  re- 
turn of  himself  and  his  men  with  their  plunder.  It 
was  of  the  utmost  importance,  therefore,  that  he  should 
personally  inspect  the  situation.  Taking  a  couple  of 
boats,  he  floated  slowly  and  carefully  down  the  stream 
and  was  not  long  in  discovering  that  his  surmises  had 
been  well  founded.  The  Spaniards  had  taken  a  vessel 
which  the  Hollanders  had  captured  and  plundered  the 
day  before  without  destroying  it,  and  had  hauled  it 
out  into  the  middle  of  the  river,  scuttled  and  sunk  it 
there  across  the  stream,  so  that  Pete  Hein  would  be 
compelled  to  steer  directly  between  the  wreck  and  the 


PIET   HEIN.  113 

shore.  This  passage  was  very  narrow  and  was  made 
the  more  dangerous  by  reason  of  a  breastwork  cast 
up  on  the  bank,  and  from  behind  which  the  enemy 
could  open  a  destructive  fire  of  cannon  and  musketry 
upon  the  flotilla.  A  perilous  point  to  pass.  But  the 
Dutch  commander  was  as  quick  in  movement  as  he 
was  bold  in  action.  Without  paying  any  attention  to 
the  fire  from  the  shore  he  made  directly  for  the  sunken 
ship  and  set  fire  to  all  of  it  that  was  above  the  water, 
and  then  with  a  couple  of  small  cannon  which  he  had 
in  his  boats  he  paid  his  compliments  to  the  enemy  on 
shore.  In  this  way  he  foiled  the  attempt  to  entrap 
and  destroy  him  and,  with  but  slight  loss,  returned 
to  his  vessels  lying  a  little  lower  down  the  river.  But 
he  still  had  to  get  out  of  the  river  back  to  the  main 
part  of  his  fleet  and  past  the  batteries  which  the  enemy 
had  thrown  up  near  the  mouth  of  the  Patinga.  To 
accomplish  this  his  ingenuity  led  him  to  make  of  the 
ships  and  boats  with  him  what  might  be  called  the  first 
protected  cruisers  used  in  naval  warfare.  Some  of  the 
captured  vessels  had  contained  a  great  many  hides  with 
which  now  his  boats  were  loaded.  With  some  of  these 
he  covered  the  sides  of  his  sloops  and  boats  in  repeated 
layers,  while  with  others  of  the  hides  he  made  thick 
bulwarks  running  all  along  the  decks.  This  device 
served  all  the  better  as  the  wind  and  stream  were 
against  them,  so  that  they  could  proceed  but  very 
slowly,  and,  besides,  the  water  was  so  low  that  they 
were  in  constant  danger  of  getting  aground.  Indeed, 
in  many  places  they  were  compelled  to  haul  themselves 
along  by  throwing  out  anchors  ahead  and  dragging 
the  vessels  forward,  which  in  naval  parlance  is  called 


114  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

warping.  As  soon  as  they  reached  the  batteries  a  ter- 
rific fire  was  opened  upon  them,  but  most  of  the  shot 
either  stuck  in  the  thick  covering  of  the  hides  or 
bounded  off,  so  that  the  Dutch  sailors  greatly  relished 
the  joke  of  warding  off  Spanish  bullets  with  Spanish 
bull-hides.  Without  the  loss  of  a  single  man,  and  tow- 
ing the  captured  vessels  behind  them,  the  little  flotilla 
got  safely  out  of  the  river  and  back  to  the  fleet.  Be- 
fore reaching  this,  however,  one  of  the  captured  ships 
got  aground,  so  that  they  were  compelled  to  throw  her 
cargo  and  even  her  ballast  overboard ;  but  by  morning 
it  was  again  afloat  and  able  to  join  the  rest. 

The  rage  and  chagrin  of  the  people  of  Bahia  may  be 
imagined  when  on  that  morning  they  saw  the  Hol- 
landers passing  by  with  the  captured  ships.  The  bat- 
teries were  utterly  powerless,  on  account  of  the  dis- 
tance at  which  the  little  Dutch  fleet  was  lying,  to  pre- 
vent the  carrying  off  of  the  rich  booty.  Nor  did  the 
Spaniards  have  the  enterprise  or  courage  to  imitate 
their  enemy  by  manning  boats  with  armed  men  to  at- 
tack him  while  busy  with  the  arrangement  of  his  cap- 
tures, and  to  seek  thus  to  recapture  them.  They  were 
compelled  to  look  on  helplessly  while  Pete  Hein  was 
getting  ready  to  send  off  the  rich  prizes  he  had  made. 
When  all  was  ready  for  the  homeward  voyage,  after 
having  performed  one  of  the  most  daring  feats  recorded 
in  history,  he  set  sail  for  the  fatherland,  arriving  there 
without  any  mishap  on  October  24,  1627.  The  di- 
rectors of  the  West  India  Company  presented  him  with 
a  chain  and  medal  of  solid  gold  in  recognition  of  his 
skilful  and  daring  exploits.  The  ships  captured  by 
Pete  Hein  in  the  Bay  of  All  Saints  were  known  as  the 


PIET   HEIN.  115 

sugar  fleet  and  brought  no  small  addition  to  the  wealth 
of  the  company. 

The  next  year  two  more  fleets  were  fitted  out  by  the 
West  India  Company,  the  first  of  twelve  ships  com- 
manded by  the  Zeeland  Admiral  Peter  Adriaansz  Ita, 
who  gained  a  great  victory  over  the  Spaniards  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Havana,  but  which  cannot  be  related 
here ;  the  other,  of  thirty-one  thoroughly  equipped  ves- 
sels, under  command  of  Pete  Hein.  The  object  of 
this  was  the  capture  of  the  Spanish  silver  fleet,  on 
which  the  company  had  already  set  its  heart  now  for 
two  years.  In  May,  1628,  Pete  Hein's  fleet  set  out 
from  Holland,  having,  besides  the  renowned  admiral 
as  commander  in  chief,  the  subordinate  commanders 
Hendrik  Louk,  Joost  Van  Trappen,  also  called  Bankers, 
and  Witte  Cornelisz  De  Witt,  the  two  latter  subse- 
quently taking  rank  among  some  of  the  greatest  sea 
captains  of  that  day  and  country.  After  encountering 
a  great  deal  of  foud  weather  the  fleet  at  length  arrived 
at  a  point  somewhere  between  Florida  and  Cuba. 
Here  they  kept  cruising,  because  the  silver  fleet,  which 
was  to  come  out  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  would  be  com- 
pelled to  pass  that  way.  The  distance  between  Cuba 
and  Florida  is  great  enough  to  prevent  two  fleets  from 
getting  sight  of  each  other  if  one  of  them  should  wish 
to  avoid  this.  Therefore  a  very  sharp  watch  had  to  be 
kept  up  on  the  Dutch  fleet  day  and  night.  On  the  2ist 
of  August  the  first  news  about  the  silver  fleet  was  re- 
ceived from  a  couple  of  fishing  smacks  belonging  in 
Havana,  which  reported  that  few  vessels  were  lying 
in  the  neighborhood  of  that  city  just  then,  but  that 
the  great  treasure  fleet  was  daily  expected  there.  Ac- 


Il6  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

cording  to  these  fisher  folk,  also,  nothing  was  known 
yet  at  Havana  of  a  Dutch  fleet  cruising  anywhere  in 
the  vicinity.  They  seem  to  have  gotten  wind  of  this 
soon  thereafter,  however,  for  no  later  than  the  29th 
of  August  a  vessel  was  spoken  which  had  been  sent 
out  by  the  governor-general  of  Cuba  to  warn  the 
silver  fleet.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  this  warning 
never  was  given,  for  the  captain  of  that  ship  was  per- 
suaded, in  that  irresistible  way  that  men  have  when 
power  is  wholly  on  their  side,  to  stay  by  the  Dutch 
fleet.  This  continued  cruising,  therefore,  along  the 
coast  of  Cuba,  steering  steadily  westward,  but  the 
Gulf  Stream  was  so  strong  that  in  spite  of  itself  the 
fleet  was  carried  in  an  easterly  direction.  In  this  way 
it  had  been  driven  considerably  below  Havana  to  the 
neighborhood  of  Matanzas.  And  just  here  the  famous 
event  was  to  take  place — here  was  to  be  caught  that 
Spanish  silver  fleet  whose  treasures  would  replenish 
the  almost  empty  coffers  of  the  struggling  little  re- 
public. On  the  8th  of  September  the  firing  of  cannon 
was  heard  in  the  distance,  shortly  after  which  a  single 
vessel  was  descried  on  the  horizon.  For  the  capture 
of  this  Witte  Cornelisz  De  Witt  was  sent  off,  in  which 
he  succeeded  only  after  a  stubborn  fight.  This  was 
the  only  feat  of  arms  that  took  place  in  the  whole 
notable  enterprise,  so  that  it  might  almost  be  said  that 
the  honor  of  the  capture  of  the  silver  fleet  belongs 
really  to  De  Witt.  For  it  was  he  who  learned  from 
the  prisoners  he  then  made  that  the  richly  laden  fleet 
was  in  the  immediate  neighborhood.  If,  therefore,  it 
had  not  been  possible  to  capture  this  ship  it  would 
doubtless  instantly  have  sailed  back  to  warn  the  Span- 


PIET   HEIN.  117 

ish  commander,  and  the  silver  fleet  might  not  have 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Hollanders.  Now,  how- 
ever, everything  went  off  the  next  day  with  the  most 
unexpected  ease.  Few  eyes,  doubtless,  were  closed 
that  night  of  the  8th  of  September  on  board  of  Pete 
Hein's  fleet;  all  were  nervously  looking  and  longing 
for  the  morning  of  the  day  that  should  bring  the  long- 
expected  Spaniards  with  their  pockets  full  of  wealth 
into  view.  Quite  early  the  next  morning  some  ships 
were  sighted.  There  were  ten  of  them.  All  sail  was 
at  once  made  for  these,  and  without  a  blow  the  whole 
number  was  captured.  Their  cargoes  consisted  of 
hides,  cochineal,  indigo,  all  sorts  of  costly  woods  and 
dye-stuffs  and  other  valuable  merchandise.  All  of 
great  enough  value;  but  it  was  not  yet  the  silver  fleet. 
A  strict  watch  for  this  was  therefore  still  to  be  kept. 
At  last,  about  noon,  other  ships  hove  in  sight;  and 
these  were  the  real  ones.  They  were  all  galleons,  the 
towering,  clumsy,  ponderous  vessels  in  which  the 
Spaniards  of  that  day  seemed  to  delight  so  much.  They 
were  apparently  drifting  along  with  the  stream.  Sud- 
denly they  catch  sight  of  a  ship  carrying  the  Orange 
flag,  and  at  once  put  about,  steering  straight  for  the 
bay  of  Matanzas.  And  now  a  race  begins  as  to  which 
shall  reach  the  bay  first,  the  great  lumbering  Spaniards 
or  the  much  smaller  but  nimbler  Dutchmen  who 
wanted  to  head  them  off.  The  Spaniards,  however, 
were  in  the  lead  and  ran  ahead  into  the  bay.  When 
the  Hollanders  arrived  at  the  entrance  of  the  bay  it 
was  already  getting  dark,  and  thus  too  late  to  follow 
their  quarry.  During  the  night  the  Spaniards  busily 
exerted  themselves  to  carry  as  much  as  possible  of 


Il8  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

their  treasures  ashore  for  safety;  but  with  the  first 
break  of  day  they  beheld  the  boats  of  the  Hollanders 
already  close  upon  them.  Pete  Hein  himself  was  in 
one  of  these  directing  the  flotilla.  At  first  it  seemed  as 
if  the  Spaniards  were  willing  .to  make  a  brave  fight  in 
defense  of  their  rich  cargoes,  but  this  lasted  only  a  very 
short  time.  With  staring  eyes  and  wide  open  mouths 
they  stand  on  the  high  decks  watching  the  Dutch  boats 
coming  alongside.  The  sailors  of  these  seem  at  first 
somewhat  doubtful  as  to  how  to  get  up  the  towering 
sides  of  these  sea-monsters  and  to  get  on  board.  But 
here  and  there  a  sailor  espies  a  rope  dangling  from 
some  part  of  the  great  ships  and,  taking  hold  of  this, 
goes  hand  over  hand  upward,  climbs  over  the  bul- 
warks, pushes  the  gaping  Spaniards  unceremoniously 
aside  and  throws  down  to  his  comrades  as  many  ropes 
as  they  want.  It  seemed  as  if  the  very  foolhardiness 
of  the  thing  had  smitten  the  Spaniards  with  helpless 
amazement.  In  the  shortest  possible  time  all  the  boats 
are  emptied  and  the  galleons  filled  with  their  daring 
crews,  who,  swarming  like  so  many  grasshoppers  on 
deck,  driving  the  Spanish  crews  either  down  into  the 
holds  or  overboard,  begin  with  the  plundering  of  the 
rich  booty.  Fortunately  Pete  Hein  and  his  officers 
were  soon  able  to  check  all  private  enterprise  in  this 
line  on  the  part  of  their  men,  else  very  little  might 
have  reached  the  treasury  of  the  republic.  As  it  was, 
much  must  have  found  its  way  to  the  capacious  pockets 
of  the  sailors.  And  the  temptation  was  not  a  small 
one.  The  great  ships  were  loaded  down  with  treasure. 
It  took  no  less  than  five  days  to  pass  the  cargoes  over 
into  the  Dutch  ships.  This  done,  four  of  the  galleons 


PIET    HEIN.  119 

were  fitted  up  as  freighters  to  help  carry  the  booty; 
the  rest,  when  emptied,  were  either  sunk  or  burned. 

And  the  treasure?  For  that  day  it  was  immense. 
According  to  some  historians  the  value  amounted  to 
14,000,000  florins,  which,  reckoned  by  present  values, 
might  easily  be  multiplied  by  five.  There  were  nearly 
134  pounds  of  gold,  180,000  pounds  of  silver,  and 
1,000  large  pearls  of  the  most  precious  kind.  Besides 
this  there  were  all  sorts  of  manufactured  articles  of 
silver  and  gold — cups,  platters,  chandeliers,  spoons, 
forks,  locks,  chalices,  etc.,  etc.  In  addition  to  this 
still  there  were  all  sorts  of  costly  woods  and  dye-stuffs, 
a  great  quantity  of  barrels  of  sugar,  hides — in  one 
word,  everything  that  was  worth  money. 

And  now,  the  great  object  having  been  most  suc- 
cessfully accomplished,  the  prows  were  turned  toward 
the  fatherland,  which  all  reached  in  safety  except  one 
ship  that  was  wrecked  on  the  Irish  coast. 

The  home-coming  of  Pete  Hein  was  such  as  no 
Dutchman  before  him  had  ever  experienced.  Wher- 
ever he  went  his  reception  was  one  of  unbounded  en- 
thusiasm. Everywhere  he  was  feasted  and  feted, 
everywhere  bonfires  were  burning,  bells  were  ringing, 
and  crowds  were  shouting  themselves  hoarse  in  his 
honor.  The  hero  himself  was  no  little  amused  by  all 
this  display  of  popular  applause,  and  said :  "Just  mark 
the  jubilation,  because,  forsooth,  I  have  brought  gold 
and  silver  for  the  treasury.  Before,  when  I  had 
fought  hard  at  San  Salvador,  there  was  scarcely  any 
one  that  took  any  notice  of  me."  His  progress  from 
city  to  city  was  an  unbroken  ovation.  In  connection 
with  this,  a  story  is  told  highly  characteristic  of  the 


120  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

Dutch  housewife  and  her  far-famed  cleanliness.  After 
all  that  feting  and  feasting,  Pete  Hein  turned  his  steps 
to  the  house  of  his  two  sisters  in  the  village  of  Broeck, 
noted  as  the  most  scrupulously  neat  town  in  all  that 
land  of  spotless  paints  and  glistening  metal  dishes. 
Arrived  at  the  house,  he  announced  himself  by  the 
knocker  on  the  door.  This  was  answered  by  one  of 
the  sisters,  who,  on  opening  the  door  and  seeing  who 
was  there,  instead  of  falling  upon  the  neck  of  her  hero- 
brother  as  the  sister  of  such  a  man  would  have  done 
in  any  other  land,  coolly  looked  at  his  footgear,  and 
seeing  that  his  feet  were  somewhat  soiled,  calmly  said, 
"So,  Pete,  is  that  you  ?  Just  stay  there  till  I  bring  your 
slippers !" 

The  results  of  the  taking  of  the  silver  fleet  were  of 
the  utmost  importance  to  the  little  republic  that  was 
fighting  for  its  very  life  against  mighty  Spain.  In  the 
first  place,  while  it  filled  the  almost  exhausted  coffers 
of  the  republic,  it  well-nigh  emptied  the  treasury  of 
Spain.  Her  soldiers  had  for  some  time  gone  without 
their  pay,  and  it  was  the  return  of  just  this  silver  fleet 
with  its  treasures  upon  which  promises  for  their  pay- 
ment had  been  based.  When  these  promises  now 
neither  were  nor  could  be  fulfilled  by  the  government 
at  Madrid,  the  soldiers  became  mutinous  and  many 
deserted  to  the  enemy.  On  the  other  hand,  the  great 
booty  gained  enabled  the  little  republic  both  to  pay  its 
troops  and  to  make  additional  levies  of  fresh  men,  and 
this  was  followed  by  the  capture  of  several  important 
cities  and  their  permanent  deliverance  from  Spanish 
oppression. 

The  skill,  ability  and  daring  displayed  by  Pete  Hein 


PIET    HEIN.  121 

in  every  undertaking  at  sea  with  which  he  had  been 
intrusted  led  to  the  government's  selection  of  him  as 
the  successor  to  the  lieutenant-admiral  of  Holland, 
Prince  William  of  Nassau,  son  of  the  renowned  Prince 
Mauritz,  who  had  died  the  death  of  heroes  in  1627. 
There  were,  indeed,  a  number  of  able  captains  in  the 
navy  of  the  republic  whose  proved  heroism  might  have 
given  them  a  claim  to  be  selected  for  this  exalted  posi- 
tion. But  the  condition  of  the  Dutch  navy  at  this  time 
was  such  that  for  its  commander-in-chief  there  was 
needed  not  simply  a  man  of  undoubted  courage  and 
seamanship,  but  one  in  whom,  in  addition  to  these 
qualities,  there  were  found  also  consummate  skill,  pru- 
dence and  tact.  And  there  was  no  one  in  the  republic 
who  possessed  all  these  qualifications  in  equal  measure 
with  Pete  Hein,  while  he  was  superior  to  all  others  also 
in  administrative  genius  and  military  ability.  In  him 
were  conspicuous  the  talents  of  a  Martin  Harpertsz. 
Tromp  and  a  Michael  De  Ruyter,  and  if  he  could  have 
remained  longer  at  the  head  of  the  Dutch  navy  per- 
haps it  would  even  then  already  have  reached  that 
splendid  development  which  was  given  to  it  under 
Tromp  and  was  carried  to  its  fullest  height  under  De 
Ruyter.  He  was,  however,  not  permitted  long  to 
adorn  his  exalted  position. 

Scarcely  two  months  after  his  appointment  as  lieu- 
tenant-admiral of  Holland  he  set  sail  with  a  small 
squadron  of  seven  men-of-war  and  one  yacht,  leaving 
orders  for  all  the  rest  of  his  fleet  to  follow  him  as  soon 
as  they  were  ready  for  sea.  His  object  was  to  find 
and  punish  the  pirates  of  Dunkirk.  This  was  a  strong 
seaport  in  the  southern  Netherlands  and  then  still  in 


I«2  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

the  possession  of  Spain.  We  shall  have  to  refer  to  this 
city  again  in  relating  the  deeds  of  the  great  Tromp. 
As  soon  as  Pete  Hein's  fleet  had  been  sufficiently 
strengthened  'he  steered  at  once  for  Dunkirk,  where  a 
couple  of  his  yachts  captured  two  privateers.  Then, 
leaving  his  vice-admiral  Quast  with  twelve  ships  before 
Dunkirk  in  order  to  prevent  the  sailing  out  of  any 
other  privateers,  he  himself  went  with  the  rest  of  his 
force  to  hunt  up  the  main  fleet  of  the  Dunkirkers.  En- 
tering the  straits  between  Dover  and  Calais  on  the  3Oth 
of  June,  1629,  he  discovered  the  enemy.  Instantly  he 
began  the  atack,  placing  his  own  ship  between  those 
of  the  two  admirals  of  the  hostile  fleet  and  giving  both 
a  broadside  at  the  same  time.  This  was  answered  at 
once  by  the  two  Dunkirkers,  when,  with  the  third  vol- 
ley a  shot  struck  the  great  hero  as  he  stood  on  the 
quarter-deck  encouraging  his  men  in  the  fight,  and  put 
an  end  to  his  noble  life.  By  his  side,  at  the  time,  was 
standing  his  future  worthy  successor,  Martin  Har- 
pertsz.  Tromp.  Seeing  their  beloved  and  renowned 
commander  fallen,  his  men,  instead  of  losing  heart, 
became  possessed  with  an  uncontrollable  lust  for  ven- 
geance. Like  raging  tigers  they  threw  themselves 
upon  the  foe  and  were  soon  masters  of  the  enemy's 
flagship,  where  every  soul  on  board  was  put  to  the 
sword.  The  Dunkirker  vice-admiral  now  sought  to 
get  away,  but  Pete  Hein's  flag-captain,  Vink,  followed 
him  through  the  entire  night  with  the  fire  of  his  bat- 
teries. In  the  morning  the  Dunkirker's  mainmast  was 
shot  away,  when  Vink  threw  out  his  grappling  irons 
and  boarded  him.  Then  followed  the  most  furious 
fight  of  the  entire  engagement,  the  privateersmen  fight- 


PIET   HEIN.  123 

ing  with  the  courage  of  despair;  but  when,  after  an 
hour's  persistent  struggle,  the  vice-admiral  saw  a  third 
of  his  men  lying  dead  along  his  deck,  he  surrendered 
at  discretion.  The  rest  of  the  Dunkirk  fleet  had  fled 
and  dispersed. 

The  body  of  Pete  Hein  was  carried  to  Delft,  and 
like  that  of  Heemskerk  was  buried  at  the  expense  of 
the  State.  Over  his  grave  a  noble  monument,  worthy 
of  his  services  and  fame,  was  erected,  which,  with  his 
statue  in  the  little  square  of  his  native  town,  ought  for 
all  time  to  be  a  constant  inspiration  to  his  countrymen 
of  heroic  and  exalted  patriotism. 

He  lived,  fought,  and  died  for  his  fatherland.  Two 
lines  borrowed  from  Byron's  Childe  Harold,  with  a 
slight  change  of  phrase,  may  deservedly  be  applied  also 
to  Pete  Hein :  "Let  his  name  from  out  the  temple  of 
the  dead  be  honored  by  the  nations." 


MARTIN  HARPERTSSON  TROMP. 

DESCRIPTION   OF  THE  HOME  OF  TROMP BOY-SAILOR  CAP- 
TURED BY  PIRATES TESTIMONY  OF  PIET  HEIN DUNKIRK 

AND   ITS   PRIVATEERS — FIERCE  BATTLES  WITH  THESE 

VICTORY  OVER  VAN  DOORN ARMADA  OF  D'OQUENDO 

TROMP' S    DARING    ATTACK ENGLISH    INTERFERENCE 

TOTAL    DEFEAT    OF  D'OQUENDO RESULT,  WIDESPREAD 

FAME   OF    TROMP JEALOUSY    OF    ENGLAND IMPROVE- 
MENT   IN    NAVAL   TACTICS PEACE   OF   MUNSTER END 

OF  EIGHTY  YEARS'  STRUGGLE — CAUSES    OF   WAR  WITH 

ENGLAND VICTORY    OVER    BLAKE FLEET    SHATTERED 

BY    STORM RELIEVED     OF     COMMAND REINSTATED 

TOTAL    DEFEAT    OF    BLAKE THREE   DAYS*  FIGHT  OFF 

PORTLAND HEROISM  OF   VARIOUS  CAPTAINS — COMPARI- 
SON OF  FORCES FIERCE  BATTLE  WITH  MONK  AND  BLAKE 

DEATH  OF  TROMP. 

Before  relating  the  deeds  of  our  present  hero,  let  us 
pay  a  visit  to  his  boyhood  home. 

There  were  few  countries  of  that  time  in  which  the 
influence  of  art  among  the  middle  classes  was  more 
marked  than  in  Holland.  This  was  particularly  notice- 
able in  the  tasteful  and  harmonious  shaping  of  the  inte- 
rior of  their  dwellings,  in  the  doors  and  panellings,  as 
well  as  in  the  adornment  of  the  rooms.  Of  this  class 
was  the  house  at  Briel,  where,  in  1597,  Tromp  was 
born,  and  in  which  he  spent  the  days  of  his  early  child- 
hood. Seen  from  the  outside  there  was  nothing  to  at- 
tract attention  to  it,  unless  it  might  have  been  its  some- 
what sombre  simplicity.  But  as  soon  as  one  entered  the 


IAAKTEN  HASFERTSZQQH  TKi 


:  t  enaimt  Admiraa  Ivait  Holland 
riealand  . 


MARTIN   HARPERTSSON  TROMP.  125 

front  door  the  proofs  of  artistic  taste  were  at  once  ap- 
parent. In  the  hall  the  tessellated  floor  was  of  blue  and 
white  marble,  brilliant  with  the  evidence  of  the  constant 
application  of  soap  and  brush,  while  its  walls  were 
lined  with  the  world-renowned  Delft  tiles.  The  stairs 
were  covered  with  chased  brass,  the  value  of  which 
would  to-day  be  reckoned  almost  equal  with  gold.  Each 
landing  place,  as  well  as  the  casements,  with  their 
stained  glass  windows,  which  gave  light  to  the  stair- 
case, was  furnished  with  exotic  plants,  set  in  costly 
jardinieres. 

In  the  room  of  the  master  of  the  house  the  walls 
were  covered  with  rich  Gobelin  tapestry.  From  the 
posts  of  the  carved  bedstead  of  black  ebony  projected 
a  canopy  whose  inner  surface  was  richly  painted  with 
an  appropriate  scene.  From  this  hung  damask  cur- 
tains exquisitely  worked.  The  chimney  opposite  the 
bedstead  was  a  masterpiece  of  interior  architecture. 
Columns  of  sea-green  marble  crowned  with  white  capi- 
tals supported  the  mantelpiece,  the  graceful  cornice  of 
which  was  surmounted  by  a  frieze  covered  with  bas-re- 
liefs. Above  the  mantelpiece  and  on  either  side  of  it, 
was  a  large  painting  in  light  gray  enamel  from  Limoge, 
representing  scenes  in  the  life  of  the  sea  captain  Har- 
pert  Martensson,  our  hero's  father.  The  chairs  of 
costly  wood,  with  their  finely  turned  legs  and  straight 
backs  and  arms,  were  better  fitted  for  ornament  than 
ease.  On  the  gueridons,  small  round  stands,  stood 
elegant  large  pots  filled  with  drooping  ferns.  Every- 
where objects  of  vertu  relieved  the  somewhat  oppres- 
sive splendor  of  this  Dutch  chamber,  while  the  spotless 


ia6  NAVAL  HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

cleanliness  and  elegance  of  the  whole  testified  to  the 
taste  and  industry  of  the  housewife. 

Such  was  the  boyhood  home  of  Martin  Harpertsson 
Tromp;  and  yet  from  this  house,  when  only  a  child,  he 
went  with  his  father  to  share  the  perils  and  privations 
of  his  dangerous  calling.  We  have  seen  that  he  was 
present  at  the  glorious  battle  in  the  bay  of  Gibraltar 
when  he  was  only  nine  years  old.  Two  or  three  years 
after  this  he  accompanied  his  father  on  board  of  a 
Dutch  West  Indiaman.  On  the  coast  of  Guinea  they 
were  attacked  by  an  English  pirate,  and,  though  the 
Dutch  sailors  fought  with  all  their  old-time  courage 
and  determination,  weight  of  metal  and  superiority  of 
numbers  finally  decided  the  contest  in  favor  of  the 
English  freebooter.  Martin's  father  himself  fell  here, 
after  a  desperate  hand-to-hand  contest  with  the  cap- 
tain of  the  pirate  ship.  The  little  fellow  had  shown 
already  here  the  stuff  he  was  made  of  by  boldly  taking 
part  in  the  bloody  fight,  and  when  he  saw  his  father 
fall  he  ran  toward  the  men  of  his  own  ship,  crying: 
"Will  no  one  avenge  the  death  of  my  father  ?  "  But 
the  loss  of  their  captain  had  almost  broken  the  spirit 
of  the  men,  and,  though  the  Hollanders  still  fought 
bravely,  they  were  soon  overcome  and  forced  to  sur- 
render. With  those  who  were  left  alive  of  the  crew 
little  Martin  was  made  prisoner  and  was  compelled  to 
serve  the  slayer  of  his  father  as  cabin  boy.  For  two 
long  years  he  was  made  to  endure  on  this  pirate  ship  a 
life  of  the  utmost  abandonment  and  cruelty,  a  life  that 
it  would  seem  could  have  ended  only  in  the  utter  de- 
basement of  the  lad  or  the  crushing  out  of  his  spirit. 
But  he  came  out  of  the  terrible  ordeal  neither  broken  in 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  1 2? 

mind  nor  character.  How  he  escaped  out  oi  the 
clutches  of  his  captor  there  is  no  record  except  one  that 
is  wholly  legendary  and  unreliable.  There  is  no  ques- 
tion, however,  that  the  two  years  spent  with  the  pirate, 
while  leaving  his  moral  nature  uncorrupted,  which 
remarkable  immunity  could  have  been  caused  only  by 
his  early  pious  training,  had  made  him  already  much 
of  the  man  which  he  afterwards  became,  utterly  fear- 
less in  the  midst  of  danger  and  on  the  fullest  footing  of 
familiarity  with  every  mood  of  the  capricious  sea. 

Undeterred  by  all  he  had  already  suffered,  he  had 
barely  reached  home  when  he  was  off  again  to  sea.  At 
the  age  of  twenty  he  was  quartermaster  under  Hand- 
some Lambert,  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  battle  of  Gib- 
raltar. Somewhat  later  he  was  captured  again,  this 
time  by  an  Algerine  pirate,  who  took  him  first  to  Tunis 
and  then  to  Algiers,  but  was  set  at  liberty  by  the  bey 
of  that  city  on  payment  of  a  heavy  ransom. 

In  1627  he  received  from  Prince  Mauritz,  the  Stadt- 
holder  of  Holland,  the  command  of  a  small  frigate. 
From  this  time  until  his  death  there  was  scarcely  any- 
thing done  by  the  Dutch  fleet  where  he  was  not  present, 
nor  any  sea  fight  in  which  he  did  not  give  proof  of  his 
courage  and  skill.  As  we  have  seen,  it  was  he  who  was 
with  Pete  Hein  in  the  battle  with  the  Dunkirk  fleet, 
where  the  latter  lost  his  life.  Pete  Hein  himself  had 
turned  the  attention  of  the  Republic  to  the  man  who 
was  to  make  both  his  own  name  and  that  of  his  father- 
land so  glorious.  He  declared  that  he  had  known 
many  able  and  brave  captains,  in  whom,  however,  he 
had  always  found  some  professional  weakness  or 
other,  but  that  Tromp  possessed  every  qualification  re- 


128  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

quired  in  a  commander  at  sea.  And,  indeed,  it  was  he 
who  was  to  follow  up  the  great  work  of  Pete  Hein. 

Several  years  were  yet  to  pass,  however,  before 
Tromp  reached  the  pinnacle  of  his  fame.  While  his 
own  name  was  becoming  known  as  that  of  one  of  the 
ablest  and  most  heroic  sea  captains  of  his  day,  the 
neglect  and  maladministration  of  the  Lieutenant-Ad- 
miral Van  Dorp  and  Vice-Admiral  Liefhebber  were 
reducing  the  Dutch  navy  to  a  most  deplorable  condi- 
tion. Things  were  brought  to  such  a  pass  even  that 
Tromp  and  De  Witt,  the  latter  one  of  the  boldest  and 
most  daring  of  his  day,  with  a  number  of  other  captains 
threw  up  their  commissions  and  sought  employment  on 
shore.  At  length  the  two  incapable  admirals  resigned. 
Now  the  present  Stadtholder,  Prince  Frederick  Henry, 
himself  one  of  the  ablest  generals  of  that  time,  put 
Tromp  and  De  Witt  at  the  head  of  the  Dutch  naval  af- 
fairs, the  former  as  lieutenant-admiral,  the  other  as 
vice-admiral.  Both  took  hold  of  their  task  with  their 
accustomed  vigor  and  ability.  In  a  few  months  they 
raised  the  navy  once  more  to  such  a  state  of  efficiency 
as  to  inspire  both  the  government  and  the  people  with 
renewed  confidence.  The  fruit  of  this  was  soon  appar- 
ent, not  only  in  the  greater  zeal  and  ambition  shown 
by  the  subordinate  officers  and  the  eagerness  with 
which  sailors  again  sought  service  under  the  glorious 
flag,  but  in  repeated  victories  over  the  fleets  of  Dun- 
kirk. 

Dunkirk,  situated  on  the  Channel,  about  midway  be- 
tween Calais  and  Ostende,  was  for  many  years  the 
headquarters  of  the  boldest  privateers,  and  was  par- 
ticularly at  this  time  the  principal  port  at  which  the 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  129 

Spanish  fleets  could  find  a  harbor  either  for  refuge  or 
to  refit  or  equip  their  vessels.  The  ships  sent  out  by 
Dunkirkers,  whether  singly  or  in  squadrons,  inflicted 
more  injury  upon  Dutch  commerce  than  all  the  navy 
of  Spain.  Some  of  their  captains  were  but  little  in- 
ferior either  in  seamanship  or  fighting  ability  to  the 
best  that  Holland  could  send  against  them.  One  of 
them,  the  renowned  Jean  Bart,  was  even  selected  by 
Louis  XIV.  to  command  a  French  fleet.  Some  of  the 
conflicts  between  the  Dutch  and  these  bold  freebooters 
are  worth  relating,  since  it  was  in  these  that  many  a 
sea  captain  of  the  little  Republic  proved  himself 
worthy  to  be  ranked  among  her  naval  heroes. 

In  November,  1630,  a  Captain  Lighthart,  command- 
ing a  yacht  in  the  service  of  the  Dutch  West  India 
Company,  was  on  his  homeward  trip  and  had  already 
entered  the  Channel,  when  three  Dunkirk  cruisers,  car- 
rying no  less  than  seventy-six  guns,  gave  chase  to  him. 
As  there  was  no  chance  to  get  away  without  a  fight, 
Lighthart  awaited  their  attack  and  handled  his  ship  and 
his  few  guns  in  such  masterly  manner  as  to  keep  his 
enemies  at  bay  for  eight  long  hours,  finally  succeeding 
in  getting  away  and  carrying  his  ship,  though  badly 
damaged,  into  Plymouth  harbor.  On  another  occasion 
an  Amsterdam  skipper,  Niehoff,  defended  his  single 
ship  against  four  Dunkirkers  until  his  vessel  was  ready 
to  sink  under  him,  when,  in  spite  of  the  raining  hail  of 
shot  that  still  fell  about  him,  he  and  his  crew  manned 
their  boats  and  escaped,  the  four  hostile  ships  being  too 
badly  cut  up  to  prevent  it.  The  Admiralty  of  his  native 
city  fitly  rewarded  his  heroism  with  a  massive  gold 
chain  and  medal.  Not  long  after  this,  April  19,  1633, 


130  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

another  Amsterdammer  distinguished  himself  in  a  fight 
with  some  vessels  from  that  same  nest  of  buccaneers. 
His  name  was  Cornelius  Jansson,  but  because  of  his 
fiery  nature  he  had  been  nicknamed  "the  fighting  cock," 
in  Dutch,  "de  Haan,"  which  latter  became  the  family 
name  and  is  still  borne  by  not  a  few  Hollanders.  As 
he  was  peacefully  ploughing  the  waves  the  outlook  re- 
ported two  Dunkirk  freebooters  in  pursuit.  Though 
he,  too,  was  greatly  inferior  in  guns  and  men,  he 
neither  sought  to  outsail  them  nor  even  to  await  their 
attack,  but  boldly  turned  his  prow  and,  setting  all  sail, 
made  straight  for  the  foe  and  placed  his  ship  between 
his  two  opponents.  In  this  position  he  kept  up  the 
fight  for  three  hours  with  a  fury  that  has  rarely  been 
surpassed.  At  the  end  of  this  time  the  larger  of  the 
buccaneers,  a  seventeen-gun  ship,  careened  and  went 
to  the  bottom,  seeing  which  the  other,  of  fourteen  guns, 
turned  tail  and  fled,  leaving  "the  fighting  cock"  master 
of  the  field.  There  was,  however,  no  crowing  or  flap- 
ping of  wings  on  his  part  over  the  victory,  for  both  he 
and  the  most  of  his  men  had  paid  for  their  achieve- 
ment with  their  lives.  The  rest  of  the  crew  brought 
their  little  ship,  though  scarcely  able  to  float,  safely 
back  to  Amsterdam.  This  was  the  eighth  fight  with 
the  Dunkirkers  in  which  De  Haan  had  been  engaged, 
from  seven  of  which  he  had  each  time  brought  home 
a  prize.  This  is  commemorated  by  the  following  in- 
scription above  his  tomb  in  the  Old  Church  at  Amster- 
dam: 

"Here  lies  the  man  who  seven  times  constrained 
His  foes  to  strike  their  flag,  and  seven  prizes  gained, 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  IJI 

And  at  the  last  with  two  made  such  a  fight 
That  one  was  sunk  and  the  other  put  to  flight." 

Another  of  these  captains  made  his  name  particularly 
dreaded  among  the  Dunkirkers.  This  was  the  Zee- 
lander,  Joost  Bankers.  There  were  no  less  than  six 
of  his  family  who  distinguished  themselves  at  sea  in 
the  service  of  their  fatherland,  though  no  one  of  the 
others  quite  equalled  him  in  skill  and  heroism.  He 
rose  by  sheer  merit  and  bravery  from  the  lowest  rank 
to  that  of  admiral  of  the  fleet  of  Zeeland,  the  most 
southerly  of  the  seven  provinces  of  the  Dutch  Republic. 
Once,  when  he  was  still  a  young  man,  his  single  ship 
was  attacked  by  a  fleet  of  thirteen  Dunkirkers, 
After  a  most  stubborn  fight,  in  which  the  marvelous 
swiftness  and  skill  with  which  Bankers  handled 
his  ship  were  as  conspicuous  as  his  courage  and  daring, 
he  made  his  escape,  though  his  ship  was  badly  cut  up. 
Three  of  the  Dunkirkers  had,  one  after  the  other,  been 
sent  to  the  bottom.  On  another  occasion  he  was 
boarded  by  two  of  the  same  class  of  buccaneers.  Their 
men  were  crowding  on  his  decks,  and  as  one  after  an- 
other of  his  crew  fell  about  him  it  seemed  as  if  this  time 
he  would  have  to  succumb.  Again  and  again  they 
called  upon  him  to  surrender,  each  time  only  to  get  the 
reply,  "Surrender?  Never!  I'll  blow  up  my  ship  first !" 
and  putting  a  match  into  the  hands  of  his  oldest  son, 
who  was  with  him  on  board,  he  sent  him  down  to  the 
magazine  with  orders  to  set  fire  to  this  as  soon  as  he 
should  give  the  word,  threatening  to  split  the  boy's 
head  open  with  his  own  hand  if  he  dared  to  disobey. 
After  a  desperate  struggle  the  assailants  were  driven 


133  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

back  to  their  own  ships  and  Bankers  succeeded  in 
bringing  his  own  safely  into  port.  There  was  fortu- 
nately no  need,  therefore,  in  carrying  out  his  fearful 
threat.  Some  time  thereafter,  in  1637,  when  in  com- 
mand of  four  armed  merchant  vessels,  he  defeated  a 
Dunkirk  squadron  of  seven  sail,  capturing  three  of 
them  and  putting  the  rest  to  flight. 

None  of  the  Dutch  captains,  however,  was  so  con- 
spicuously successful  against  these  privateers  as 
Tromp.  Only  one  of  his  engagements  with  these  bold 
and  persistent  foes  of  the  Dutch  marine  can  be  related 
here,  but  that  the  most  important  not  only  in  its  charac- 
ter, but  in  its  effects. 

Early  in  February,  1639,  he  was  sent  with  a  squad- 
ron of  twelve  ships  to  attack  the  Dunkirkers  or  to  shut 
them  up  in  their  own  harbor.  Immediately  on  reach- 
ing the  neighborhood  of  their  port  Tromp  sent  one  of 
his  ships  ahead  to  reconnoitre.  By  this  the  signal  was 
soon  given  that  a  large  fleet  was  coming  out  from  Dun- 
kirk. Finding  it  impossible  to  prevent  this,  Tromp 
drew  up  his  fleet  in  the  form  of  a  half  moon,  a  favorite 
manoeuvre  of  his,  and  made  for  the  enemy. 

The  governor  of  the  city,  Don  Fuentes,  with  a  large 
retinue,  had  come  down  to  the  shore,  like  another 
Xerxes,  to  witness  the  destruction  of  the  fleet  that  had 
dared  to  beard  him  in  his  own  stronghold,  but  only, 
like  his  prototype,  to  be  overwhelmed  with  shame.  His 
fleet  was  numerically  twice  as  strong  as  that  of  the 
Hollanders,  counting  twenty-three  sail,  while  most  of 
these  were  also  as  usual  much  larger  and  better 
equipped.  Two  of  the  largest  led  the  van  and  opened 
fire  as  soon  as  they  got  within  range.  After  a  short 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  133 

but  very  hot  contest,  however,  these  were  compelled  to 
strike  the  flag.  Sending  these  to  the  rear  in  charge  of 
prize  crews,  Tromp  hoisted  the  red  flag  in  signal  for  a 
general  attack.  The  wind  was  in  favor  of  the  enemy 
while  the  Dutch  had  constantly  to  beat  against  it,  a 
circumstance  which  might  easily  have  led  to  their  de- 
feat. But  their  ships  were  handled  with  such  consum- 
mate skill,  and  their  fire  was  so  rapid  and  accurate  that 
it  seemed  rather  as  if  the  elements  were  aiding  instead 
of  opposing  them.  Still,  when  seeking  to  get  closer 
to  the  wind  so  as  to  get  at  the  enemy  with  better  head- 
way, Tromp  was  for  awhile  separated  from  the  rest 
of  his  fleet.  In  this  position  he  was  set  upon  by  five  of 
the  heaviest  galleons;  but  these  received  such  a  warm 
reception  that  they  made  haste  to  get  away  from  his 
murderous  fire.  This  done,  Tromp  made  straight  for 
Van  Doom,  the  Dunkirk  admiral.  But  he  had  evi- 
dently seen  enough  of  the  way  his  ships  were  being 
pounded,  and,  thinking  discretion  the  better  part  of 
valor,  took  to  his  heels  and  made  all  sail  for  port,  fol- 
lowed by  the  remainder  of  his  fleet.  In  the  pursuit  the 
enemy's  vice-admiral  was  so  closely  pressed  by  two 
of  the  Dutch  frigates  that  he  could  not  reach  the  har- 
bor in  time  to  escape.  He  therefore  ran  his  ship 
aground  and,  after  ordering  his  crew  to  make  for  the 
shore,  with  his  own  hand  set  fire  to  his  noble  vessel. 
The  battle  had  lasted  from  eight  in  the  morning  till 
three  in  the  afternoon,  and  had  cost  the  Dunkirkers 
three  of  their  best  ships  and  the  lives  of  no  less  than 
i, 600  men. 

The  consternation  in  Dunkirk  caused  by  this  victory 
was  only  equalled  by  the  exultation  felt  in  Holland. 


134  NAVAL   HEROES   OF   HOLLAND. 

Tromp  and  his  captains  were  each  rewarded  with  a 
gold  medal.  Even  France  vied  with  the  Republic  in 
doing  honor  to  the  great  admiral.  Louis  XIII.  sent 
him  the  Order  of  St.  Michael  set  with  jewels  and  sus- 
pended from  a  massive  chain  of  gold,  while  his  prime 
minister,  Richelieu,  sent  Tromp  a  congratulatory  letter 
written  by  his  own  hand. 

Meanwhile  repeated  rumors  had  come  that  Spain 
was  preparing  to  deliver  a  crushing  blow  to  the  Re- 
public. The  French  ambassador  at  The  Hague  had 
also  warned  the  Dutch  government  that  a  great  armada 
was  collecting  in  the  harbor  of  Corunna,  evidently 
designed  against  Holland,  and  urged  that  a  strong 
force  be  instantly  prepared  to  meet  this  danger.  The 
Spanish  fleet  almost  equalled  the  self-styled  Invincible 
Armada  with  which  Philip  I.  had  hoped  to  crush  at 
once  both  England  and  Holland.  Now,  however,  the 
smaller  and  weaker  country  was  to  feel  alone  the 
power  of  this  formidable  armament,  one  greater  than 
it  had  ever  been  called  upon  to  meet. 

As  this  fleet  set  out  from  Corunna  it  numbered  six- 
ty-seven sail,  the  most  consisting  of  the  heaviest  gal- 
leons ever  built  in  Spanish  shipyards.  The  flagship, 
carrying  sixty-six  guns,  was  claimed  to  be  the  swiftest 
sailor  afloat.  Those  of  the  admirals  of  Castile  and 
Naples  each  carried  fifty-four  guns.  The  largest,  how- 
ever, was  that  of  the  Portuguese  admiral,  the  Mater 
Teresa,  which  mounted  sixty-eight  guns  and  was 
manned  by  1,200  soldiers  and  sailors.  The  entire  arma- 
ment of  this  armada  consisted  of  1,700  heavy  guns,  be- 
sides a  number  of  less  calibre.  The  united  crews 
numbered  24,000  men.  Many  of  Spain's  nobility  had 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON    TROMP.  135 

also  joined  the  fleet,  dukes  and  marquises,  counts  and 
knights  of  St.  lago,  to  gain  fame  and  renown  in  the 
expected  destruction  of  the  sea  power  of  the  thrice- 
hated  Republic.  The  chief  command  of  this  gigantic 
fleet  was  entrusted  to  Don  Antonio  d'Oquendo,  the 
latter  part  of  whose  name  has  become  familiar  to  us 
as  that  of  one  of  the  ill-fated  fleet  that  found  such 
swift  destruction  off  Santiago  de  Cuba  on  July  3,  1898. 

Besides,  orders  had  been  sent  from  Madrid  to  the 
Spanish  Netherlands  to  fit  out  and  collect  as  many 
ships  of  war  as  possible  at  Dunkirk,  which  were  to  join 
the  fleet  from  Spain  as  soon  as  that  should  .reach  the 
Channel.  It  was  this  fleet  collected  there  at  Dunkirk 
for  that  purpose  which  Tromp  had  recently  driven 
back.  Unfortunately  it  was  only  temporarily  shut  up 
there. 

What  force,  now,  did  Holland  have  ready  with 
which  to  meet  the  impending  peril  ?  At  the  outset,  not 
more  than  twenty-nine  ships.  Over  this  little  fleet, 
however,  three  of  her  ablest  and  bravest  sons  were  put 
in  command,  Tromp,  De  Witt,  and  Bankers.  With 
such  consummate  seamen  and  dauntless  fighters  as 
these  there  was  likely  to  be  hot  work  when  they  should 
grapple  with  the  Dons. 

Tromp  divided  his  fleet  into  three  squadrons;  he 
himself  with  twelve  ships  went  down  the  Channel  to 
cruise  in  the  southern  end  of  the  Strait  of  Dover;  De 
Witt,  with  five  others,  was  to  lie  off  at  the  northern 
end  of  the  Strait;  while  Bankers,  with  the  remaining 
twelve,  was  sent  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  Dunkirk  fleet. 
While  these  were  thus  posted,  awaiting  the  appearance 
of  the  great  armada,  Tromp  intercepted  three  Eng- 


136  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

lish  vessels  carrying  a  thousand  Spanish  soldiers  to 
Dunkirk.  These  troops  he  disarmed  and  set  ashore 
on  the  coast  of  France,  their  seventy  officers  were  sent 
prisoners  to  Holland,  while  he  allowed  the  English 
ships  to  proceed  homeward.  The  complaints  made  by 
Holland  to  the  English  government  for  this  great 
breach  of  neutrality  were  utterly  unheeded. 

Meanwhile  the  morning  of  September  15,  1639,  had 
dawned,  and  nothing  had  yet  been  seen  of  d'Oquendo's 
fleet.  As  the  morning  advanced,  however,  the  great 
armada  was  discovered  approaching  by  Beachy 
Head.  A  council  of  war  was  at  once  assembled  on 
board  of  Tromp's  flagship  and  the  bold  resolve  was 
there  unanimously  taken  to  give  battle  to  the  Spaniard. 
A  swift-sailing  frigate  was  therefore  despatched  to  De 
Witt  and  Bankers  to  order  them  at  once  to  join  their 
chief.  De  Witt  was  the  first  to  receive  and  obey  the 
message.  But,  having  the  wind  in  his  teeth,  he  could 
not  reach  Tromp  that  day  or  night.  By  sunrise  of  the 
1 6th,  however,  the  two  squadrons  sighted  each  other, 
whereupon  Tromp,  having  the  wind  in  his  favor,  went 
to  meet  his  subordinate.  As  soon  as  they  met  De  Witt 
went  on  board  of  the  flagship,  where  also  the  other 
commanders  of  the  fleet  had  assembled.  After  some 
discussion  it  was  resolved  not  to  wait  for  Bankers,  but 
with  their  seventeen  vessels  to  seek  and  attack  the 
vastly  superior  force  of  d'Oquendo.  "Now  is  the 
time  to  show  that  we  are  true  sons  of  Holland,  and  that 
for  her  we  are  determined  to  conquer  or  perish."  These 
words  of  the  bold  De  Witt  filled  every  breast  with 
heroic  resolve. 

The  Spaniards,   too,  had  evidently  resolved  upon 


MARTIN    1IARPERTSSON    TROMP.  137 

battle,  for  the  great  fleet,  with  every  sail  filled,  came 
dashing  on,  d'Oquendo  in  the  lead.  Doubtless  he 
expected  to  make  short  work  of  that  small  handful  of 
vessels  that  seemed  ready  to  dispute  his  passage 
through  the  Strait.  Those  seventeen  ships  there  flying 
the  hated  Orange  flag  he  would  either  drive  into  igno- 
minious flight,  or,  if  they  dared  to  make  a  stand,  send 
every  one  of  them  to  the  bottom.  But  these  were  craft 
that  were  not  built  to  be  sunk  by  Spanish  cannon,  and 
as  for  fleeing,  that  was  a  word  not  found  in  the  vocabu- 
lary of  Dutch  sailors.  Instead,  they  calmly  held  their 
place  and  awaited  the  onset  of  the  Dons.  Firing  wildly 
from  their  many  batteries  long  before  a  single  shot 
could  strike  home,  these  came  on.  The  more  enconomi- 
cal  and  wary  Hollanders  held  their  fire  until  they  were 
sure  every  shot  would  tell.  D'Oquendo  at  once  made 
for  Tromp,  and  laying  his  monster  ship  alongside, 
again  and  again  sought  to  capture  his  adversary  by 
boarding.  But  at. each  attempt  the  swarming  crowds 
of  Spaniards  were  driven  back,  either  hurled  with 
cloven  heads  or  shattered  limbs  into  the  sea  or  falling 
dead  or  dying  on  their  own  deck.  At  the  same  time  such 
a  hail  of  cannon  shot  and  musket  balls  was  poured  into 
the  Spaniard's  ship  that  d'Oquendo  was  glad  to  draw 
off  to  a  safer  part  of  the  field.  In  another  direction  De 
Witt  was  leading  the  dance,  as  he  would  call  it,  in  his 
usual  fashion.  Throwing  prudence  to  the  wind,  with 
impetuous  daring  he  plunged  .into  the  very  midst  of 
the  foe.  Here  he  was  at  once  surrounded  by  the 
heaviest  galleons.  They  lay  on  all  sides  of  him,  on 
starboard  and  larboard,  across  stem  and  stern,  sending 
broadsides  point-blank  and  raking  him  fore  and  aft. 


138  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

His  sails  were  shot  to  rags,  the  masts  were  tottering, 
the  hull  was  riddled,  the  stern  was  afire — yet  neither 
he  nor  his  men  flinched.  Calm  and  composed,  but  with 
set  lips  and  blazing  eyes,  he  gave  his  rapid  orders ;  his 
guns  thundered  with  almost  ceaseless  roar,  and  one  by 
one  the  Spaniards  slunk  away  to  seek,  like  their  chief, 
some  clearer  and  quieter  spot. 

When  the  sun  was  setting  toward  the  horizon,  about 
four  in  the  afternoon,  and  while  thus  there  would  have 
been  yet  a  full  hour  of  clear  daylight,  the  conviction 
seemed  to  have  seized  d'Oquendo  that  all  his  efforts  to 
scatter  or  destroy  that  little  fleet  were  futile,  for  that 
day  at  least.  Anyway,  he  withdrew  toward  the  Eng- 
lish coast  to  take  account  of  stock.  Had  he  been  a 
Dutchman  or  an  Englishman  he  would  not  so  easily 
have  given  up  his  purpose,  even  though  some  of  his 
vessels  had  been  rendered  unfit  for  further  fighting. 
The  Hollanders  had  sustained  one  serious  loss,  but 
rather  by  accident  than  by  the  guns  of  the  enemy.  One 
of  Tromp's  squadron,  the  Great  Christopher,  had  acci- 
dentally caught  fire  in  the  powder  magazine  and  was 
blown  up.  De  Witt's  ship  had  been  rendered  almost 
entirely  useless  after  his  desperate  fight  with  those 
four  Spaniards.  Thus  the  little  fleet  was  reduced  to 
fifteen  ships  fit  for  service.  Nevertheless,  the  two  com- 
manders stuck  to  their  original  purpose  to  give  the 
enemy  no  respite.  Before  the  day  had  quite  closed  they 
were  reinforced  by  two  fresh  ships  sent  from  Holland, 
bringing  the  numSer  up  again  to  the  original  seventeen. 
Bankers  ought  to  have  arrived  also  by  this  time ;  but  so 
far  nothing  had  yet  been  seen  of  him.  Signal  guns 
were  fired  by  the  fleet  to  indicate  its  position  in  case  he 


MARTIN   HARPERTSSON  TROMP.  139 

were  approaching.  Meanwhile  Tromp  followed  up  his 
adversary  during  the  evening  and  remained  the  entire 
night  under  his  lee,  in  order  to  attack  him  again  with 
the  first  light  of  day.  Toward  midnight  a  dense  fog 
arose,  while  at  the  same  time  the  wind  went  down,  so 
that  the  enemy  could  not  be  kept  in  sight.  This  con- 
tinued during  all  the  next  day,  the  I7th,  making  it 
impossible  for  the  Dutch  admiral  to  disturb  the  Span- 
iards, who  were  cruising  along  the  English  coast. 
Toward  evening  Tromp  signalled  his  captains  on  board 
for  a  council  of  war.  Here  it  was  resolved  that  as  soon 
as  the  moon  should  rise,  after  midnight,  to  weigh 
anchor  and  once  more  attack  the  Spaniards.  In  order 
to  prevent  the  separation  of  his  fleet  by  the  superior 
force  of  the  enemy,  Tromp  ordered  that  they  should 
keep  as  close  together  as  possible.  In  addition,  he 
commanded  each  vessel  to  carry  one  light  in  the  main- 
mast and  one  in  the  stern,  while  the  flagship  would 
carry  two,  so  as  the  better  to  distinguish  each  other. 
A  breeze  springing  up  now  from  the  southeast,  the 
anchors  were  weighed  about  midnight  and  the  fleet  was 
headed  for  the  foe.  About  one  o'clock  they  got  within 
gunshot  of  each  other.  The  weather  was  magnificent, 
— the  peaceful  moon  stood  full  in  the  almost  cloudless 
sky,  in  sublime  contrast  to  the  din  and  carnage  that 
was  to  go  on  under  her  gentle  radiance.  The  Span- 
iards do  not  seem  to  have  expected  a  night  attack  and 
replied  but  feebly  to  the  first  fire.  "They  seem  to  be 
asleep,"  said  Tromp.  "Say,  boys,  let's  wake  them  up 
there !  "  With  a  laugh  his  men  jumped  to  the  guns  and 
shot  followed  shot  with  such  rapidity  as  if  instead  of  the 
clumsy  cannon  of  the  seventeenth  century  they  were 


140  NAVAL   HEROES   OF   HOLLAND. 

handling  modern  rapid-fire  guns.  This  aroused  the 
enemy  to  put  somewhat  more  spirit  into  their  work 
also.  The  whole  night  through  the  fierce  contest  went 
on,  the  little  fleet  of  Tromp  and  De  Witt  confounding 
the  Spaniards  as  much  by  their  swiftness  and  skill  in 
manceuvering  as  by  the  fury  of  their  attack. 

Suddenly  the  outlook  on  the  flagship  of  the  Hol- 
landers reports  a  sail  to  leeward,  then  two,  three,  four 
— twelve.  Tromp  takes  the  glass,  and  after  a  moment 
cries :  "Thank  God,  they  are  our  brothers !  "  And,  in- 
deed, it  was  Joost  Bankers  with  his  squadron  coming 
to  take  a  hand  in  the  fight.  Day  was  just  breaking, 
and  as  the  news  of  his  coming  went  from  ship  to  ship 
among  the  battle-tired  sailors,  a  cheer  went  up  that 
must  have  taken  the  heart  still  more  out  of  d'Oquen- 
do's  seamen.  And  only  now,  too,  could  the  great  in- 
jury inflicted  on  the  foe  during  the  night  be  perceived. 
As  the  sun  ascended  higher  in  the  heavens  his  rays 
disclosed  here  some  great  sea  castles  of  Spain  with 
sails,  masts  and  rigging  shot  away;  yonder,  others, 
still  more  helpless,  drifting  about  on  the  waves.  There 
they  showed  some  towering  monster  enveloped  in 
flames;  yonder  another  careening  and  going  to  the 
bottom.  And  wherever  the  eye  could  reach  human 
forms  were  seen  struggling  in  the  waves,  few  of  which 
could  be  saved,  since  their  comrades  feared  to  send  out 
boats  for  their  rescue. 

The  Dutch  fleet  now  numbered  twenty-nine  ships, and 
twelve  of  these  were  fresh,  with  every  man  on  board, 
from  the  commander  down,  eager  for  a  bout  with  the 
Dons.  These,  too,  were  soon  made  aware  that  they 
would  have  a  still  harder  task  set  them  than  in  the 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON    TROMP.  14 1 

past  night.     Nor  does  d'Oquendo  seem  to  have  had 
much  inclination  to  continue  the  contest,  for  he  sig- 
nalled orders  for  his  fleet  to  steer  for    the    Downs. 
The  attempt  to  carry  this  out,  however,  brought  still 
greater   confusion   to   the    Spaniards.      Of   this    the 
Dutch  took  instant  advantage  and  fell  upon  them  with 
such  irresistible  dash  as  to  force  them  to  take  to  their 
heels  and  seek  refuge  under  the  batteries  of  England 
in  the  Downs.    Tromp  was  left  master  of  the  field,  in- 
stead of  being  destroyed  or  driven  off,  and  he  had  be- 
sides two  of  the  strongest  Spanish  ships  to  send  in 
triumph  to  Holland.    The  news  they  brought  here  not 
only  allayed  the  deep  anxiety  that  had  been  felt  in  re- 
gard to  the  fate  of  Tromp's  small  force,  but  increased 
the  eagerness  to  send  out  as  rapidly  as  possible  such 
reinforcements    as    should    enable    him     to    do    for 
d'Oquendo  what  the  latter  had  thought  to  do  for  him. 
Tromp  followed  close  upon  the  heels  of  D'Oquendo, 
and  on  reaching  the  Downs  placed  the  divisions  of  his 
fleet  in  such  positions  as  should  prevent  the  escape  of 
the  Spaniards  without  a  further  fight.    Very  soon  after 
this  disposition  was  made  the  Hollanders  were  sur- 
prised to  see  an  English  fleet,  under  Admiral  John 
Pennington,  come  out  and  take  up  a  position  in  their 
immediate  neighborhood.     But  they  were  still  more 
astounded  when  Pennington  sent  an  officer  to  Tromp 
bringing  the  following  royal  order  from  Charles  I.: 
"Both  the  Hollanders  and  Spaniards  are  to  refrain 
from  any  further  hostilities.    He  who  shall  first  trans- 
gress this  order  will  be  treated  as  an  enemy  of  Great 
Britain.     The  same  proclamation  will  be  sent  to  the 
respective  governments  of  both  the  warring  nations." 


142  NAVAL   HEROES  OF  HOLLAND. 

< 

For  awhile  Tromp  was  undecided  what  to  do :  his  in- 
structions gave  no  hint  how  to  act  under  such  circum- 
stances. The  Dutch  government  had  never  dreamed 
that  England  would  interfere  in  any  way  to  the  detri- 
ment of  Holland  in  the  righteous  war  it  was  waging 
with  the  implacable  enemy  of  the  Republic;  an  enemy 
equally  hostile  to  the  principles  dearest  to  the  hearts  of 
the  English  people.  Tromp,  therefore,  called  another 
council  of  war.  At  this  it  was  determined  to  maintain 
the  present  position  until  further  instructions  should 
be  received  from  home.  The  arbitrary  order  of  the 
English  King  seems  to  have  been  carried  to  Holland 
by  the  Dutch  ambassador  at  the  court  of  Charles  be- 
fore the  news  of  Tromp's  victory  had  reached  there. 
When  this  insolent  command  was  read  in  the  States 
General  it  created  a  fear  in  the  hearts  of  some  of  the 
members  that  they  might  be  involved  in  a  war  with 
England.  A  doubtful  and  feeble  message  was  there- 
fore sent  to  the  fleet  by  a  fishing  sloop.  This,  fortu- 
nately, never  reached  Tromp,  for  the  skipper,  getting 
sight  of  some  strange  vessels,  and  fearing  lest  the 
sealed  orders  he  was  carrying  might  fall  into  the 
hands  of  an  enemy,  threw  them  overboard.  Upon  the 
arrival  in  Holland  of  the  news  of  the  heroic  action  of 
the  Dutch  fleet  against  the  greatly  superior  foe,  the 
feeling  of  both  government  and  people  changed  to 
unprecedented  enthusiasm.  Every  navy  yard  became 
at  once  the  scene  of  the  busiest  industry ;  never  before 
had  the  different  workmen  shown  such  zeal  and 
rapidity.  The  East  and  West  India  Companies  seemed 
to  vie  with  each  other  in  furnishing  ships  and  men  for 
the  common  object,  the  destruction  of  the  proud.  Span- 


MARTIN   HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  143 

ish  armada.  In  four  weeks'  time  sixty  ships  were 
ready  for  war.  A  writer  of  that  day  says :  "The  har- 
bors, wharfs  and  navy  yards  of  Holland  swarmed  with 
preparations  for  war  by  land  and  sea.  In  every  direc- 
tion ships  seemed  to  grow  out  of  the  ground  rather 
than  being  constructed  by  human  hands.  There  was 
no  need  of  establishing  recruiting  officers  for  sailors, 
they  fairly  rushed  for  the  ships,  and  that  in  such  num- 
bers that  it  was  impossible  to  accept  all  that  offered 
their  services.  Every  one  was  eager  to  fight  under 
the  banner  of  Tromp.  Each  felt  assured  of 
victory  where  Tromp  commanded."  Thus,  to  the 
amazement  of  all  Europe,  the  fleet  under  Tromp, 
in  a  little  more  than  a  month,  grew  to  ninety- 
six  men  of  war,  besides  eleven  fireships 
Stronger  proof  could  scarcely  have  been  given  of  what 
enthusiastic  patriotism  may  accomplish  in  even  so 
small  a  country  as  the  Holland  of  that  time.  Even 
now,  however,  Tromp's  fleet  was  still  inferior  in  the 
size  of  its  ships,  weight  and  number  of  guns,  and  in 
men. 

The  Dutch  government  now  sent  orders  to  its  ad- 
miral of  a  far  different  tenor  from  those  thrown  over- 
board by  the  captain  of  the  fishing  smack.  He  was 
commanded  to  attack  and,  if  possible,  destroy  the 
Spanish  fleet  in  whatever  harbors,  bays,  or  roadsteads 
belonging  to  any  nation  in  which  it  might  be  found,* 
and  to  defend  himself  by  force  of  arms  against  any 
power  or  powers  that  might  seek  to  hinder  him  in  this. 
Such  was  the  bold  response  of  the  little  Republic  to  the 
imperious  order  and  insolent  threat  of  Charles  I. 

Armed  with  this  energetic  command  of  his  govern- 


144  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

ment  Tromp  made  instant  preparations  for  attack  at 
the  first  opportunity  that  should  present  itself. 
D'Oquendo,  however,  kept  his  force  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  English  fleet,  whose  commander,  Penning- 
ton,  seemed  inclined  to  thwart  Tromp  in  every  possible 
way.  Not  caring  to  embroil  his  country  in  a  war  with 
England,  the  latter  tried  to  draw  the  Spaniard  into  the 
open.  With  this  object  he  sent  challenge  after  chal- 
lenge to  d'Oquendo  to  come  out  and  try  again  the 
gage  of  battle.  But  to  these  the  Spanish  commander 
replied  with  all  sorts  of  flimsy  excuses.  At  first  he 
said  that  he  could  not  come  out  until  he  had  secured  a 
lot  of  masts  and  yards  which  were  waiting  for  him  at 
Dover.  When  this  was  reported  to  Tromp  he  sent  one 
of  his  captains  to  fetch  them.  For  bringing  these  to 
his  fleet  the  astonished  Spaniard  presented  the  Dutch 
captain  with  a  cask  of  wine.  Though  d'Oquendo's 
excuse  was  now  removed,  he  was  not  yet  ready  to  ac- 
cept his  antagonist's  challenge.  When  Pennington 
made  some  sharp  remark  about  this,  the  Spaniard  said 
that  he  had  not  sufficient  powder  for  a  long  battle,  but 
that  as  soon  as  he  had  this  he  would  meet  Tromp. 
Thereupon  the  Englishman  offered  to  ask  the  Dutch 
commander  for  a  loan  of  a  thousand  pounds.  To  this 
d'Oquendo  agreed.  When  this  singular  and  unique 
proposal,  never  heard  of  before  or  since  in  the  annals 
of  war,  was  brought  to  Tromp,  he  replied  that  he  was 
ready  to  accommodate  the  Spaniard  if  he  really  needed 
the  powder,  and  would  send  for  it.  But  this  request 
proved  only  another  subterfuge,  for  d'Oquendo  nei- 
ther sent  for  the  powder  nor  left  his  safe  and  comfort- 
able anchorage. 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON   TROMP  145 

Now,  however,  the  Dutchman  had  lost  all  patience 
and  determined  to  give  battle  in  spite  of  the  English 
fleet  or  the  guns  of  Dover.  Tromp  divided  his  fleet  into 
six  squadrons.  With  the  first  he  intended  personally 
to  attack  the  Spanish  commander-in-chief.  The  sec- 
ond was  to  be  led  by  Jan  Evertsen  against  the  division 
of  the  Portuguese  Admiral  Lopez  Docias;  Rear-Ad- 
miral Catz  led  the  third  against  the  Dunkirk  Admiral 
Michael  van  Doom,  whose  fleet  had  reinforced 
d'Oquendo;  while  the  commodores  Denys  and  Houte- 
been  (Wooden  Leg)  were  to  look  after  the  extreme 
wings  of  the  enemy..  The  last  and  strongest  squadron 
was  under  command  of  the  intrepid  De  Witt,  who  was 
to  keep  an  eye  on  Pennington  and  see  that  he  neither 
gave  aid  to  the  enemy  nor  interfered  in  any  way  with 
the  action  of  Tromp  or  any  part  of  his  fleet.  When  it 
is  remembered  that  this  squadron  of  De  Witt's  num- 
bered no  less  than  thirty  ships,  it  seems  almost  like 
temerity  on  the  part  of  the  Dutch  commander  to  so 
far  weaken  his  forces  at  the  very  moment  of  attack. 

Before  beginning  the  fight  Tromp  sent  a  letter  to 
Pennington,  stating  that  the  Spaniards  had  broken  the 
order  of  King  Charles  in  firing  a  gun  by  which  one 
of  the  men  on  Captain  Block's  ship  had  been  killed. 
He  therefore  demanded  that  the  Spaniards  should  be 
regarded  as  enemies  according  to  the  orders  of  the 
English  Court;  at  least  that  the  British  fleet  should 
keep  itself  strictly  neutral.  His  letter  was  conveyed 
to  Pennington  by  Captain  Block.  He  was  further  in- 
structed to  say  verbally  that,  if  the  English  fleet  inter- 
fered with  Tromp  in  any  way,  he,  Pennington,  would 
have  to  defend  himself  against  De  Witt,  who  had  or- 


146  NAVAL  HEROES  OF  HOLLAND. 

ders  to  attack  him  as  soon  as  he  showed  any  sign  of 
hostility.  Though  he  could  not  but  have  been  greatly 
chagrined  at  the  boldness  of  the  Hollanders,  Penning- 
ton  gave  a  reassuring  answer  to  this  message,  adding 
that  he  would  urge  the  Spaniards  to  leave  the  Downs. 
But  the  English  admiral  seems  to  have  failed  in  this. 
At  all  events,  d'Oquendo  and  his  fleet  remained  where 
they  were.  Up  to  this  time  the  wind  had  been  blowing 
from  the  east,  and  thus  against  Tromp.  Now  it  sud- 
denly changed  first  to  the  north  and  then  to  the  north- 
west, the  quarter  most  favorable  to  the  Dutch  fleet. 
The  signals  were  set  on  the  flagship  and  the  five  squad- 
rons in  splendid  battle  array  followed  the  lead  of  the 
admiral  to  drive  the  Spaniards  out  of  the  Downs  and 
to  scatter  or  destroy  their  proud  armada.  De  Witt, 
as  arranged,  with  his  thirty  ships,  took  his  station  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  English  fleet  to  keep  Pen- 
nington  in  check.  Though  d'Oquendo  must  have  fore- 
seen the  attack  long  before,  yet,  perhaps  doubting 
either  Tromp's  ability  or  courage  to  attack  him  in  the 
presence  of  the  English  fleet  and  almost  under  the  very 
guns  of  the  forts  on  shore,  he  had  made  not  the 
slightest  preparation  properly  to  receive  his  foe.  But 
as  the  Dutch  fleet  came  on  now  with  the  unmistakable 
air  of  battle,  the  most  of  the  Spanish  ships  cut  their 
cables  and  sought  the  open  water.  The  narrowness 
of  the  passage,  however,  and  the  unskilfulness  of  the 
Spanish  sailors,  coupled  with  the  hurry  in  which  they 
were  seeking  to  get  in  battle  order,  only  brought  their 
fleet  into  confusion.  This  was  still  further  enhanced 
by  the  unwieldy  size  of  their  ships.  To  make  matters 
still  worse,  while  the  huge  galleons  were  thus  crowd- 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  147 

ing  upon  each  other,  suddenly  a  thick  fog  arose.  What 
with  all  this  and  the  ignorance  of  the  Spaniards  as  to 
the  waters  in  which  they  were  fighting,  coupled  with 
the  remarkable  swiftness  of  the  Dutch  vessels  and  the 
rapidity  of  their  fire,  the  battle  seemed  almost  decided 
before  it  had  fairly  begun.  At  the  very  beginning  of 
the  fight  Don  Andreas  de  Castro,  the  admiral  of  Cas- 
tile, though  warned  before,  got  aground  with  twenty- 
one  of  his  division.  When  the  fog  lifted  a  little  they 
were  discovered  'by  one  of  the  Dutch  squadrons  which 
at  once  directed  every  battery  against  them.  The  Eng- 
lish tried  to  protect  the  hapless  Spaniards  by  the  fire 
from  their  shore  batteries  and  forts.  The  Hollanders 
paid  no  attention  to  this,  but  pounded  away  at  de  Cas- 
tro's squadron  so  terribly  that  the  crews  left  the  ships 
pell-mell  and  sought  either  to  escape  in  their  boats  or, 
jumping  overboard,  to  reach  the  shore  by  swimming. 
Thereupon  some  of  the  fireships  were  sent  from  the 
Dutch  fleet,  which  utterly  destroyed  seventeen  of  the 
Castilian  vessels.  While  the  fog  had  been  so  disas- 
trous to  de  Castro  it  had  thus  far  been  favorable  to 
d'Oquendo,  who  under  its  mantle  had  been  enabled  to 
get  into  the  open  sea,  and  was  evidently  trying  to  get 
out  of  the  way.  But,  alas!  the  fog  cleared  away  too 
soon  for  him,  for  no  sooner  had  Tromp  got  sight  of 
him  but  he  at  once  gave  chase.  Here  still  other  disas- 
ters followed  the  ill-fated  fleet.  The  flagship  of  the 
admiral  of  Galicia,  de  Soto  Major,  got  afoul  of  another 
Spanish  vessel,  whereupon  these  sea-castles  were  in- 
stantly surrounded  by  several  of  the  small  but  swift 
Hollanders,  and  after  a  short  contest  were  compelled 
to  surrender.  The  admiral  of  Naples,  Pedro  Quaderon, 


148  NAVAL    HEROES  OF    HOLLAND. 

was  driven  with  his  ship  on  the  Goodwin  Sands  near 
Dover;  there  it  parted  amidships  and  most  of  its  offi- 
cers and  crew  were  lost  in  the  waves.  Eleven  others 
of  the  great  armada  were  captured  or  destroyed  in  this 
headlong  chase;  others  were  driven  and  stranded  on 
the  English  or  French  coast,  while  only  about  twelve, 
favored  by  another  fog  followed  by  a  gale,  succeeded 
in  reaching  the  harbor  of  Dunkirk.  Among  these  were 
those  of  d'Oquendo  himself  and  of  Van  Doom,  the 
Dunkirk  admiral. 

While  Tromp  was  personally  pursuing  d'Oquendo 
and  driving  the  Spaniards  before  him,  the  vice-admiral 
Jan  Evertsen  was  engaged  in  the  fiercest  contest  of 
that  terrible  day  with  the  Portuguese  admiral  Docias. 
As  has  been  stated,  the  ship  of  Docias,  the  Mater  Te- 
resa, was  the  largest  in  the  Spanish  fleet.  Though  his 
own  ship  as  well  as  all  the  others  of  his  squadron  were 
vastly  inferior  to  this  sea-fortress,  Evertsen  did  not 
hesitate  to  engage  it.  Under  a  terrific  fire  from  the 
Portuguese  squadron  he  dashed  at  the  enemy,  intend- 
ing, if  possible,  to  capture  it  by  boarding.  But  the 
tremendous  size  of  the  ship  and  its  crowd  of  1,200 
fighting  men  rendered  this  impossible.  The  desperate 
defense  of  the  Portuguese  only  made  Evertsen  the  more 
determined  to  capture  or  destroy  his  flagship,  well 
knowing  that  with  this  taken  the  rest  of  the  hostile 
squadron  would  be  easily  defeated.  Without  a  mo- 
ment's cessation,  therefore,  his  guns  poured  their  shot 
into  the  broad  sides  of  the  Mater  Teresa.  The  defense, 
however,  continued  as  stubborn  as  the  attack.  But 
when  Tromp  returned  after  the  flight  of  d'Oquendo 
and  became  aware  of  the  task  Evertsen  had  set  him- 


M AUXIN    HAKPERTSSON    TROMP.  149 

self,  he  sent  down  five  of  his  fireships.  These,  covered 
by  Evertsen's  incessant  fire,  made  at  once  for  the 
Portuguese  flagship ;  but  two  of  them,  as  they  sought 
to  fasten  themselves  to  the  great  galleon,  were  con- 
sumed by  their  own  fire.  The  other  three  were  more 
successful;  they  threw  their  grapnels  on  board  of  the 
Portuguese  and  held  him  in  their  fiery  clutch.  Soon 
the  monster  was  wrapped  in  flames  and  with  a  ter- 
rific crash  it  burst  asunder,  while  its  cannon  still 
belched  forth  their  own  shot  and  flame.  The  tre- 
mendous concussion  raised  the  sea  in  towering  waves, 
while  the  agonizing  cries  of  the  torn  and  lacerated 
crew  rent  the  air.  Sublime  but  terrific  spectacle !  The 
English  and  French  coasts  trembled  with  the  shock 
of  the  explosion,  as  if  shaken  by  an  earthquake.  The 
twilight  that  had  already  fallen  was  changed  into  full 
daylight,  and  the  heavens  were  covered  to  the  horizon 
with  the  lurid  glare.  The  blowing  up  of  the  Mater 
Teresa  decided  the  fight.  The  terrified  Portuguese  fled 
in  every  direction,  but  with  the  Zeeland  squadron  in 
hot  pursuit.  Nine  of  them,  six  of  which  were  among 
the  heaviest  galleons,  fell  into  the  hands  of  Evertsen 
and  were  brought  in  triumph  to  the  Zeeland  ports. 

The  next  day  Tromp's  fleet  was  scattered  over  the 
straits  of  Dover,  while  of  d'Oquendo's  great  armada 
only  a  single  ship  was  left  in  sight.  This  basely  sur- 
rendered to  a  boat  carrying  a  crew  of  only  nine  men ; 
the  strongest  evidence  of  the  terror  that  the  Hollanders 
had  struck  into  the  hearts  of  the  Spaniards.  A  couple 
of  days  afterwards  another  galleon  was  captured  near 
the  English  coast,  another  between  Dover  and  Calais, 
while  not  far  from  the  latter  place  three  more  were 


15°  NAVAL   HEROES  OF    HOLLAND. 

run  ashore  by  their  own  captains,  and  still  another 
sought  refuge  up  the  Thames. 

After  Tromp  had  gathered  his  fleet  together  again 
he  returned  to  the  Downs.  As  he  anchored  there  he 
honored  the  English  fleet  and  forts  with  the  customary 
salutes,  but  which  were  not  returned.  The  English 
admiral  had  not  stirred  from  his  position  during  the 
entire  battle;  but  it  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  he 
did  not  view  the  unprecedented  victory  of  the  Dutch 
without  envy.  No  doubt  De  Witt's  presence  with 
thirty  ships  as  well  as  some  secret  orders  from  his 
master,  King  Charles,  prevented  any  active  interference 
on  Pennington's  part. 

The  loss  sustained  by  the  Spaniards  was  enormous. 
Of  the  entire  fleet,  67  strong,  in  the  preparation  of 
which  a  whole  year  and  vast  sums  of  money  had  been 
spent,  not  more  than  18  finally  reached  the  harbor  of 
Dunkirk  in  a  very  shattered  condition.  More  than  forty 
had  either  been  burned,  sunk  or  captured  by  the  Dutch, 
of  which  latter  14  were  sent  to  the  harbors  of  Holland. 
Of  their  crews  7,000  had  perished  and  18,000  were 
made  prisoners.  The  entire  loss  of  the  Dutch  was 
scarcely  one  hundred  men  and  two  ships,  one  of  which 
had  become  entangled  with  the  rigging  of  the  Mater 
Teresa  and  shared  the  same  fate  as  that  proud  galleon. 

The  joy  in  Holland  when  the  news  of  this  splendid 
victory  was  received  was  unbounded.  But  when 
Tromp  himcelf  set  foot  on  land  the  exultation  was 
raised  almost  to  the  point  of  extravagance.  His  jour- 
ney to  The  Hague  was  one  continual  triumphal  prog- 
ress. All  ranks  and  conditions,  rich  and  poor,  young 
and  old,  men,  women  and  children  crowded  each  other 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  I$I 

along  the  highways  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  conqueror. 
Nothing  like  it  had  ever  been  witnessed  in  the  Repub- 
lic. The  reception  given  to  Piet  Hein  when  returning 
from  the  capture  of  the  Silver  Fleet  was  not  to  be  com- 
pared with  it.  The  government  showed  its  apprecia- 
tion of  the  great  achievement,  first  by  presenting  to 
Tromp  and  each  of  his  most  important  subordinates  a 
gold  chain  and  medal  commemorating  the  victory,  and 
next  by  proclaiming  a  general  day  of  thanksgiving.  By 
order  of  the  States  General  also  public  festivals  were 
held  throughout  the  fatherland  and  by  its  ambassadors 
at  foreign  courts  in  honor  of  the  victory.  As  another 
testimony  of  the  government's  great  satisfaction  with 
the  conduct  of  the  admiral,  the  States  General  ear- 
nestly solicited  that  to  the  daughter  born  to  him  a  few 
days  after  his  return  this  name  should  be  given,  Anna, 
Maria,  Victoria,  Martensis,  Harpensis,  Trompensis, 
Dunensis.  Think  of  it!  Wonder  if  the  poor  thing, 
loaded  down  with  all  this  Latinized  Dutch,  survived? 
The  results  were  as  noteworthy  as  the  victory  was 
great.  Never  before  had  the  young  Republic  achieved 
such  glory,  and  never  in  all  the  long  struggle  was  her 
independence  so  assured.  The  naval  power  of  Spain 
had  received  a  crushing  blow,  and  with  this  the  convic- 
tion had  at  last  come  to  her  that  she  would  never  suc- 
ceed to  bring  the  revolted  Netherlands  into  subjection. 
Thus  she  became  more  and  more  inclined  to  recognize 
the  independence  of  the  Dutch  Republic  and  to  con- 
clude an  honorable  peace  with  it.  But  these  were 
not  the  only  results  of  the  destruction  of  the  great 
armada.  The  extraordinary  energy  exhibited  by  the 
Hollanders  that  led  to  this  glorious  victory  had  greatly 


IS2  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

enhanced  the  respect  of  foreign  nations  for  the  Nether- 
lands. This  was  especially  true  of  the  great  naval 
powers,  England,  France,  Denmark,  and  Sweden.  By 
these  the  Dutch  Republic  was  recognized  now  as  one 
of  the  mightiest,  if  not  the  mightiest  naval  power  of 
Europe,  and  thus  of  the  world.  But  there  was  a  dark 
side  to  this,  too.  Tromp's  victory  over  such  a  power- 
ful foe  on  the  British  coast  aroused  the  envy  of  Eng- 
land, and  it  is  not  a  groundless  assertion  that  by  this 
event  chiefly  the  seeds  were  sown  for  the  many  quar- 
rels that  arose  between  these  two  neighboring  and  so 
closely  related  nations,  which  cost  both  so  much  blood 
and  money.  Finally,  the  victory  in  the  Downs  made 
the  Hollanders  realize  for  the  first  time  that  they  were 
a  naval  power.  They  had  indeed  in  numerous  engage- 
ments proved  that  they  were  daring  sailors  and  in- 
trepid fighters,  but  a  victory  such  as  the  last  they  had 
never  yet  gained.  This  now  made  them  fully  realize 
their  strength,  and  gave  them  the  consciousness  that, 
when  led  by  brave  and  capable  chiefs,  they  need  fear 
no  foe  whatever.  Says  the  great  naval  historian  J.  C. 
de  Jonge,  "The  Dutch  navy,  before  this  victory,  too 
little  acquainted  with  its  own  strength  and  not  recog- 
nized abroad  according  to  its  worth,  from  this  time  on 
advanced  rapidly,  and  even  during  this  same  period  be- 
came the  means  by  which  the  Netherlands,  but  a  few 
years  before  so  little  respected,  compelled  even  kings 
to  observe  the  peace." 

Another  honor  gained  by  Tromp  through  this 
achievement  was  that  of  having  established  a  scientific 
method  of  naval  attack,  an  honor  recognized  by  more 
than  one  English  author.  They  fully  acknowledged 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON    TROMP.  1 53 

that  it  was  he  who  taught  them  how  to  conduct  a  naval 
battle.  According  to  one  of  their  ablest  writers  on 
naval  affairs,  the  whole  art  of  war  at  sea  among  the 
English,  before  this  battle  of  the  Downs,  consisted  in 
boarding  and  entering  an  enemy ;  what  is  called  naval 
tactics  was  utterly  unknown  to  them.  But  with  this 
battle,  in  which  they  saw  Tromp  divide  his  fleet  into 
squadrons,  scientifically  surrounding,  attacking,  and 
destroying  his  enemy,  there  arose  for  them  also  a  new 
period  in  naval  history.  And  when  the  time  came 
when  they  had  to  measure  themselves  with  this  great 
captain,  they,  who  also  were  born  seamen,  had  learned 
to  manage  their  fleets  according  to  the  methods  of  their 
great  antagonist  and  teacher. 

Nine  years  after  this  event,  in  1648,  a  treaty  of  peace 
was  signed  at  Munster  between  Spain  and  the  Dutch 
Republic.  By  this  Holland  was  recognized  as  com- 
pletely independent  of  Spain,  and  she  at  once  took  a 
notable  place  among  the  states  of  Europe.  Eighty  years 
had  passed  since  the  great  struggle  was  begun  and  now 
at  last,  contrary  to  all  human  calculation  or  expecta- 
tion, the  little  Republic  stood  among  the  nations  free 
and  independent,  having  gained  for  herself  imperish- 
able renown,  and,  notwithstanding  all  her  countless  sac- 
rifices, rich,  influential  and  honored  above  almost  any 
other  nation  of  that  day. 

Only  four  years  after  she  gained  her  independence 
from  Spain,  Holland  was  involved  in  another  war,  and 
that  with  a  nation  which  ought  to  have  been  her  closest 
ally  and  friend.  Her  sister  Republic,  England,  sud- 
denly became  as  bitter  a  foe  to  her  as  Spain  had  ever 
been. 


1 54  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

The  causes  of  this  war  are  too  numerous  to  be  here 
detailed.  A  brief  mention  of  the  leading  points,  how- 
ever, must  be  made. 

It  has  already  been  said  that  Tromp's  great  victory 
in  1639  had  aroused  the  jealousy  and  envy  of  Eng- 
land. For  some  time  past  she  had  come  to  look  upon 
the  sea  as  her  own  peculiar  domain,  on  which  she  was 
sovereign  and  upon  which  others  could  act  only  by  her 
suffrage.  No  wonder,  therefore,  that  she  could  not 
easily  brook  competition  there.  But  now  a  power  had 
risen  that  threatened  soon  wholly  to  surpass  her  in 
commercial  importance.  And  her  fear  in  this  respect 
was  justified  by  the  fact  that  the  Dutch  merchant 
marine  in  a  few  years  after  the  war  with  Spain  counted 
more  bottoms  than  those  of  all  the  other  nations  of 
Europe  together. 

Events  transpiring  in  England,  however,  led  to  the 
production  of  a  much  stronger  cause  for  hostility.  The 
great  revolution  under  Cromwell  had  taken  place 
there,  during  which  Charles  I.,  King  of  England,  was 
brought  to  the  scaffold  and  beheaded.  His  son,  who 
afterwards  became  Charles  II.,  found  refuge  in  Hol- 
land, much  against  the  will  of  Cromwell  and  his  party 
in  England.  Holland  herself  was  at  this  time  divided 
into  two  parties,  the  purpose  of  the  one  being  the  vest- 
ing of  the  entire  power  in  the  representatives  of  the 
people,  making  the  Stadtholder  merely  the  executive; 
that  of  the  other  to  give  him  the  authority  and  power 
of  a  sovereign,  The  latter  party  looked  upon  the  be- 
heading of  Charles  I.  as  nothing  short  of  murder  and 
were  not  slow  in  publicly  so  expressing  themselves. 
They  even  grossly  insulted  Cromwell's  ambassador  at 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  I  $5 

The  Hague  by  hurling  the  epithet  "King-killer"  at  his 
head.  In  addition,  a  member  of  the  ambassador's  suite 
was  cruelly  assassinated  while  seated  at  table  in  a  hotel 
at  The  Hague.  The  crime  is  supposed  to  have  been  com- 
mitted by  some  English  royalists  then  at  the  Dutch 
capital.  The  Dutch  government  offered  a  large  reward 
for  the  detection  and  arrest  of  the  criminals,  but  they 
were  never  discovered.  This  murder  naturally  created 
intense  bitterness  in  England. 

Not  long  after  this  event  the  Stadtholder, William  II., 
died,  without  leaving  an  immediate  successor,  by  which 
event  the  so-called  State  party,  which  greatly  resem- 
bled the  Republican  party  in  England,  became  the 
most  powerful.  It  would  seem  as  if  this  fact  should 
have  prevented  the  breaking  out  of  hostilities  between 
the  two  nations  so  similar  in  government,  religious 
belief,  and  characteristics.  But  public  sentiment  in 
England  became  more  and  more  pronounced  in  favor 
of  war  with  its  rival.  Cromwell  himself  at  first  seemed 
inclined  to  maintain  peace  between  the  two  nations; 
but  as  soon  as  he  felt  himself  firmly  seated,  after  the 
utter  defeat  of  the  royalists  in  the  battle  of  Worcester 
in  1651,  he  began  to  give  way  to  the  influence  of  the 
English  merchants  who  wanted  to  down  their  Dutch 
competitors. 

The  first  hostile  move  on  the  part  of  England  was 
the  passing  of  the  so-called  "Navigation  Act,"  which 
forbade  the  Dutch  to  bring  any  goods  into  English 
harbors  except  such  as  were  produced  or  raised  in  Hol- 
land. This  itself  was  a  tremendous  blow  to  the  Dutch 
shipmasters,  because  their  freights  consisted  very 
largely  of  merchandise  from  every  part  of  the  world. 


I5<>  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

In  consequence  of  this  act  there  was  soon  scarcely  a 
port  of  Holland  but  was  full  of  unemployed  vessels, 
while  sailors  and  their  captains  were  wandering  idly 
about  the  quays  and  docks.  But  still  worse  was  to 
come.  In  1651  Parliament  issued  "letters  of  indem- 
nity" to  all  Englishmen  who  claimed  to  have  sustained 
any  loss  at  the  hands  of  the  Hollanders.  Instantly  the 
plundering  began.  In  a  very  short  time  a  number  of 
Dutch  merchantmen  were  seized  and  confiscated  to  in- 
demnify English  merchants.  This  was  followed  by  a 
still  more  arbitrary  act  on  the  part  of  Cromwell's  gov- 
ernment. Arrogating  to  itself  the  supreme  sovereignty 
of  the  sea,  it  claimed  the  "right  of  search"  on  the  high 
seas.  All  vessels  whatsoever,  whether  men-of-war  or 
merchantmen,were  to  submit  to  this  whenever  it  pleased 
any  English  man-of-war's  captain  to  board  them 
and,  if  it  seemed  good  to  him,  to  confiscate  either  lad- 
ing or  vessel,  or  both.  At  this  time,  too,  England  for- 
bade the  Hollanders  to  send  any  ships  to  the  Caribbean 
Sea.  This  was  the  last  straw.  Dutch  patience  was  at 
an  end,  and  in  March,  1652,  the  States  General  passed 
a  resolution  to  send  out  a  fleet  for  the  protection  of 
Dutch  interests  on  the  ocean.  When  the  English  gov- 
ernment learned  of  this  the  envoys  of  Holland  were 
told  that  their  government  could  not  be  permitted  to 
send  out  or  maintain  a  fleet  of  war  vessels  at  sea,  this 
being  a  prerogative  belonging  to  England  chiefly  as 
sovereign  of  the  seas.  The  only  reply  given  to  this 
intolerably  insolent  claim  was  the  departure  of  Tromp 
with  a  fleet  of  fifty  sail. 

All    these    assumptions  and  insults  on  the  part  of 
England  naturally  aroused  a  bitter  hatred  of  her  in  the 


MARTIN   HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  I$7 

breast  of  every  Hollander,  the  stronger,  doubtless,  be- 
cause the  two  nations  were  in  so  many  respects  akin. 
As  an  instance  of  this  it  is  related  of  a  mother  who,  on 
taking  leave  of  her  son  as  he  was  about  to  join  the 
fleet,  said,  "I  would  rather,  my  son,  see  you  brought 
home  in  a  basket  cut  in  a  thousand  pieces  than  that  you 
should  yield  the  space  of  a  foot  to  an  Englishman  or 
flee  like  a  coward."  If  such  was  the  feeling  among  the 
people  in  general,  the  hatred  of  the  sailors  for  their 
overbearing  foe  can  be  imagined.  Tromp,  too,  shared 
in  this,  so  that  he  was  not  likely  to  brook  any  insult 
offered  by  an  English  commander.  He  was  instructed 
to  protect  all  Dutch  vessels  against  any  attempt  on  the 
part  of  the  English  to  molest  them.  Before  going  to 
sea  he  had  asked  how  he  should  act  in  regard  to  strik- 
ing the  flag.  In  reply  the  government  inquired  how  he 
had  acted  during  the  life  of  the  late  king.  To  this  he 
answered  that  the  Dutch  had  been  accustomed  to  salute 
the  king's  ships  and  to  lower  the  flag  to  them  when  they 
were  met  in  the  Straits  of  Dover  or  near  the  English 
coasts.  Hereupon  he  was  ordered  to  follow  his  own 
judgment,  but  to  do  nothing  derogatory  to  the  honor 
of  the  State.  He  was  also  instructed,  in  order  to  avoid 
a  clash  with  the  English,  not  to  approach  their  coast, 
but  to  keep  near  the  Flemish  shore.  In  obedience  to 
this  Tromp  took  up  his  position  between  Newport  and 
Dunkirk.  Here  a  number  of  his  ships  were  greatly 
damaged  by  a  severe  gale  lasting  for  four  days,  so  that 
he  was  induced  to  sail  toward  the  hook  of  Dover, where 
the  sea  was  not  so  dangerous,  and  there  to  repair  dam- 
ages. As  soon  as  he  arrived  here  he  sent  two  of  his 
frigates  to  the  English  commodore  Bourne,  who  was 


158  NAVAL  HEROES  OF  HOLLAND. 

lying  in  the  Downs  with  twelve  men-of-war,  to  an- 
nounce his  arrival  and  his  reasons  for  approaching  the 
English  coast.  They  were  also  to  add  that  as  soon  as 
the  repairs  were  made  he  would  at  once  return  to  the 
north  for  the  protection  of  the  Dutch  fishing  fleet. 
Bourne  seems  to  have  taken  this  message  in  an  equally 
friendly  way.  It  took  but  a  few  days  to  complete  the 
repairs,  when  Tromp  crossed  over  to  the  French  side 
of  the  Channel,  intending  by  that  route  to  return  to 
the  Dutch  coast.  At  a  point  a  little  to  the  southwest  of 
Calais  he  learned  from  a  Dutch  captain  that  seven 
merchant  vessels  were  lying  only  a  short  distance  off, 
carrying  cargoes  to  the  value  of  five  million  florins, 
and  that  not  far  from  there  a  fleet  of  twelve  English 
war  vessels  were  evidently  lying  in  wait  for  them. 
Tromp  therefore  at  once  changed  his  course  and 
steered  in  their  direction.  He  had  not  gone  far,  how- 
ever, when  an  English  fleet  of  fifteen  sail  met  him, 
one  of  which  carried  an  admiral's  flag.  Determined 
to  protect  the  rich  fleet  of  merchantmen  or  to  recapture 
it  if  already  taken,  Tromp  held  his  course.  It  was  his 
plan,  however,  not  to  open  hostilities  until  he  should 
be  compelled  to  do  so.  He  even  made  preparations  to 
salute  the  English  flagship.  But  scarcely  had  the  fleets 
come  within  gunshot  of  each  other  when,  without 
waiting  for  Tromp's  salute,  the  English  admiral  sent 
a  ball  over  the  Dutch  flagship,  the  Brederode.  This 
Tromp  left  unanswered.  Soon  another  shot  followed, 
which  was  also  not  returned.  Instead,  Tromp  sent  his 
flag  captain  in  a  boat  to  the  English  admiral  to  ask  for 
an  explanation  of  his  singular  action.  But  before  this 
captain  could  reach  him  Blake,  who  commanded  this 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  159 

English  fleet,  fired  another  shot.  And  this  time  it  was 
evident  that  the  Englishman  meant  to  fight,  for  the 
shot  penetrated  the  hull  of  the  Dutch  flagship  and  took 
off  the  arm  of  one  of  the  crew,  while  several  others 
were  wounded  by  the  flying  splinters.  Even  yet,  how- 
ever, Tromp  tried  to  avoid  a  pitched  battle  and  merely 
sent  a  ball  athwart  the  bows  of  the  English  flagship. 
He  still  hoped,  too,  that  Blake  would  await  the  boat 
that  Tromp  had  sent  off  and  which  now  was  almost  at 
the  side  of  Blake's  ship.  But  instead,  the  latter  placed 
his  ship  in  position  and  gave  Tromp  the  full  broadside. 
Let  it  be  understood  here  that  no  declaration  of  war 
had  yet  been  made  by  English  against  Holland.  Thus 
put  on  his  mettle  Tromp  at  once  gave  as  good  as  he  re- 
ceived. With  that  rapidity  in  which  he  had  drilled  his 
gunners  he  poured  broadside  after  broadside  into 
Blake.  Though  with  his  superior  force  he  could  easily 
have  destroyed  Blake's  fleet,  for  still  a  full  half  hour 
Tromp  tried  to  avoid  a  general  engagement.  But  when 
he  saw  that  the  English  were  bent  on  a  regular  fight  he 
hoisted  the  red  flag,  the  signal  for  a  general  attack.  As 
the  battle  went  on  Commodore  Bourne,  who  had  heard 
the  cannonading,  brought  his  twelve  ships  to  Blake's 
assistance.  Now  the  fight  became  fierce  and  furious, 
as,  indeed,  always  was  the  case  when  the  Dutch  and 
English  came  in  conflict  at  sea,  and  lasted  till  nine  at 
night,  when  darkness  separated  the  combatants.  Tromp 
held  his  ground  during  the  night  and  when  morning 
dawned  discovered  Blake  and  Bourne  with  all  sail  set 
making  for  Dover.  Tromp  did  not  think  it  best  to  pur- 
sue them  for  the  same  reason  that  he  had  tried  to  shun 
the  battle,  namely  to  avoid  involving  his  counrty  in 


160  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

war.  Besides,  he  had  accomplished  his  original  pur- 
pose— the  rich  fleet  of  merchantmen  were  safely 
brought  into  port. 

After  this  high-handed  outrage  war  was,  of  course, 
inevitable.  And  yet  even  then  the  Dutch  government 
left  nothing  untried  to  maintain  peace  between  the  two 
nations.  But  Cromwell  and  the  Parliament  would 
hear  of  no  terms  except  submission  to  all  their  haughty 
and  insolent  demands  in  regard  to  English  sovereignty 
at  sea  and  the  unrestricted  right  of  search.  No  choice 
being  left  them  but  to  fight,  the  Hollanders  determined 
to  carry  on  the  war  with  the  utmost  vigor.  Every  ship 
of  war  that  was  ready  for  sea  was  at  once  ordered  to 
join  the  fleet.  The  great  East  India  Company,  whose 
ships  were  almost  as  well  fitted  out  for  battle  as  those 
of  the  regular  navy,  was  requested  to  place  all  its  ves- 
sels at  the  disposal  of  the  Republic.  Every  one  that 
had  the  means  to  do  so  was  permitted  to  fit  out  pri- 
vateers to  prey  upon  the  commerce  of  the  enemy.  To 
Tromp  orders  were  sent  to  attack  the  English  where- 
ever  he  should  meet  them  and  to  inflict  the  utmost  in- 
jury upon  them.  In  July,  1652,  he  sailed  out.  While 
on  the  Zeeland  coast  he  fell  in  with  the  Dutch  envoys 
returning  from  a  fruitless  mission  to  England.  From 
these  he  received  a  list  of  the  enemy's  fleets  with  the 
information  that  Admiral  George  Ascue  was  lying  in 
wait  for  him  in  the  Downs  with  a  fleet  of  thirty-one 
sail,  while  Blake  with  sixty  more  had  stood  for  the 
north.  Tromp's  first  intention  now  was  to  strike 
Ascue  and,  if  possible,  destroy  his  fleet.  But  in  this  he 
had  the  wind  dead  against  him,  so  that  he  determined 
to  wear  ship  and  go  in  pursuit  of  Blake.  Here,  how- 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON    TROMP.  l6l 

ever,  the  elements  were  still  more  unfavorable,  for  the 
wind  grew  to  a  terrific  gale  which  not  only  scattered 
his  fleet,  but  blew  several  of  them  ashore  on  the  Eng- 
lish coast,  where  they  fell  an  easy  prey  to  the  enemy. 
He  was  forced  thus  to  return  home  with  many  a  ship 
sadly  the  worse  for  that  unlocked  for  contest  with  the 
elements.  The  saddest  blow  ever  given  to  his  heroic 
soul  came  upon  him  here  when  this  misfortune  was 
reckoned  to  him  as  a  crime  and  he  was  removed  from 
the  command  of  the  fleet.  This  was  now  entrusted  to 
De  Witt.  The  latter,  however,  though  one  of  the  ablest 
and  most  daring  of  Holland's  seamen  of  that  time, 
was  lacking  in  the  prudence  that  marked  Tromp,  and 
was  besides  greatly  disliked  by  many  of  his  subordi- 
nate officers  and  sailors  because  of  his  fiery  temper.  In 
consequence  of  this  and  of  his  headlong  impetuosity  he 
sustained  a  serious  defeat  at  the  hands  of  the  English 
in  October  of  this  same  year.  The  government  was 
but  too  glad  to  reinstate  Tromp  in  his  command,  to  the 
great  joy  of  the  entire  fleet. 

In  the  following  December,  about  the  first  day  of  the 
month,  he  set  sail  again  in  command  of  ninety  men-of- 
war  and  eight  fireships.  His  first  duty  was  to  convoy  a 
merchant  fleet  of  270  sail  as  far  as  the  Lizard,  the  ex- 
treme southerly  point  of  England.  His  fleet  was 
divided  into  four  divisions  the  first  commanded  by 
himself,  the  second  by  De  Ruyter,  the  third  by  John 
Evertsen,  and  the  fourth  by  Peter  Florisz.  De  Ruyter 
and  Evertsen  were  natives  of  Flushing.  Hearing  that 
the  English  fleet  under  Blake  was  lying  in  the  Downs, 
he  determined  to  take  his  whole  force  thither,  merchant- 
men and  all,  and  attack  the  English  admiral.  But  a 


1 62  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

strong  gale  from  the  southwest  once  more  forced  him 
to  return  to  his  own  coasts  so  as  not  to  put  the  mer- 
chant fleet  in  jeopardy.  Leaving  these  here  under  pro- 
tection of  some  of  his  own  ships,  he  returned  with  the 
remainder  of  his  fleet  to  the  Channel.  On  the  9th  of 
December  he  cast  anchor  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Dover.  The  next  day,  though  there  was  a  very  high 
sea  and  the  wind  was  blowing  a  gale,  the  blue  flag  on 
the  admiral's  ship  gave  the  signal  to  weigh  anchor. 
With  this  all  sail  was  at  once  made  for  the  enemy. 
Blake  seemed  at  first  disinclined  to  fight  and  appeared 
to  be  steering  out  of  the  way.  But  some  of  the  fastest 
sailers  of  the  Dutch  fleet  had  already  overtaken  some 
of  his  ships  and  were  pounding  them  severely.  At 
this  Blake  turned,  and  by  three  in  the  afternoon  faced 
his  foe.  As  soon  as  Tromp  perceived  him  he  cried, 
"There  he  comes,  boys !"  at  the  same  time  pointing  to 
the  English  flagship  and  that  part  of  their  fleet  follow- 
ing Blake.  They  made  straight  for  the  leader  of  the 
Dutch  fleet.  As  they  passed  they  gave  each  other  the 
full  broadside.  Tromp's  flagship,  the  Brederode, 
while  tacking  to  fire  its  other  broadside  struck  one  of 
the  attacking  ships,  the  Rosekrantz,  so  violently  that  the 
Brederode's  bowsprit  broke  off  at  the  foot,tearing  away 
with  it  a  part  of  the  bow.  This,  however,  did  not  pre- 
vent Tromp  from  boarding  the  Rosekrantz,  whereupon 
a  most  terrific  combat  followed.  While  the  carnage 
was  going  on  here  another  English  ship  laid  itself  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Brederode.  For  a  whole  hour 
Tromp  lay  thus  between  these  two,  most  of  his  men 
fiercely  fighting  on  the  decks  of  the  Rosekrantz,  and 
the  few  remaining  defending  their  own  ship  against 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  163 

the  terrific  fire  of  the  Bonaventure.  The  vice-admiral, 
John  Evertsen,  however,  had  become  aware  of  the 
peril  of  his  chief  and  hurried  to  his  aid.  He  put  his 
ship  directly  alongside  of  the  Bonaventure  and  belab- 
ored it  so  terribly  that  in  a  very  short  time  all  her  masts 
go  by  the  board,  after  which  he  throws  his  men  on 
board  to  fight  the  English  there  also  hand  to  hand. 
This  decided  the  fate  of  these  two;  their  proud  flag 
was  lowered,  their  crews  divided  as  prisoners  between 
the  ships  of  Tromp  and  Evertsen,  and  themselves,  with 
prize  crews,  sent  to  Holland.  Half  an  hour  before  the 
Rosekrantz  surrendered  one  of  Tromp's  sailors  climb- 
ed into  her  mainmast  and,  amid  a  perfect  hail  of  bul- 
lets, tore  away  the  British  flag  and  put  that  of  the 
Dutch  Republic  in  its  place.  For  this  heroic  deed  he 
received  on  his  return  home  a  reward  of  500  florins. 

Blake  himself  had  sailed  on  and  had  come  in  contact 
with  De  Ruyter,  the  man  that  was  to  raise  the  fame  of 
the  Dutch  navy  to  the  highest  glory.  In  the  first  onset 
the  English  flagship  lost  its  main  and  topmast  and 
then,  as  De  Ruyter  was  veering  off  to  get  a  more 
advantageous  position,  he  was  attacked  at  once  by  the 
Dutch  captains  De  Haas  and  De  Liefde.  Twice  he 
was  boarded  by  these,  but  each  time  the  Dutch  sailors 
were  driven  back.  The  second  time  Blake  resorted  to 
the  desperate  expedient  of  blowing  up  his  deck,  send- 
ing friend  and  foe  to  destruction  and  forcing  his  as- 
sailants to  retreat.  In  this,  however,  he  was  himself 
wounded,  whereupon  he  and  most  of  his  fleet  drew 
out  of  the  fight  and  made  for  Dover.  But  Tromp  did 
not  let  him  get  away  till  two  of  the  English  ships  were 
burned  and  another  sunk.  The  darkness  prevented 


1 64  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

further  pursuit  except  on  the  part  of  a  few  of  the 
Dutch  ships  which  had  penetrated  farthest  into  the 
enemy's  lines  and  which  kept  up  the  cannonading  till 
9  o'clock.  Tromp  had  lost  but  one  ship,  and  this  had 
caught  fire  by  accident. 

The  Dutch  fleet  anchored  a  short  distance  from 
shore  and  spent  the  entire  night  in  the  stopping  of 
leaks  and  the  repairing  of  masts  and  rigging,  so  as  to 
be  ready  for  battle  again  by  the  break  of  day.  But 
when  the  morning  came  not  a  British  ship  was  to  be 
seen.  Blake  had  retreated  up  the  Thames.  If  Tromp 
could  have  been  fully  sustained  by  all  his  ships,  there 
is  little  doubt  that  the  English  fleet  would  have  been 
completely  destroyed.  Even  Hume  acknowledges  that 
the  night  came  just  in  time  to  prevent  this.  High 
winds,  too,  had  prevented  many  Dutch  vessels  from 
taking  part  in  the  battle.  This  also  made  the  pursuit 
of  the  enemy  on  the  next  day  impossible,  though  one 
of  Tromp's  captains  captured  yet  an  English  frigate  of 
thirty-six  guns,  and  some  others  were  fortunate 
enough  to  seize  a  number  of  English  merchantmen. 
As  soon  as  the  weather  cleared  Tromp  steered  for  the 
great  merchant  fleet  that  he  was  to  convoy  and  with- 
out the  loss  of  a  single  one  of  the  270,  sent  them  to 
their  various  destinations  in  France,  Spain,  Portugal 
and  the  Mediterranean. 

It  was  after  this  battle  that  Hume  would  have  us 
believe  that  Tromp  fastened  a  broom  to  his  masthead 
to  signify  that  he  had  swept  the  sea  clean  of  the  Eng- 
lish. But,  besides  that  there  is  not  the  slightest  hint  of 
this  either  in  Tromp's  dispatches  or  in  any  Dutch 
author,  such  a  vainglorious  act  is  entirely  out  of  keep- 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  165 

ing  with  the  known  humility  and  sobriety  of  the  man. 
But  even  if  he  had  done  something  of  the  sort,  it  would 
have  been  fully  in  keeping  with  the  facts,  for  he  had 
literally  driven  the  braggart  sovereign  of  the  seas  out 
of  his  own  waters  and  for  several  weeks  went  cruising 
along  his  coasts  without  a  single  British  ship  showing 
itself,  while  the  rich  fleet  of  Dutch  merchantmen 
passed  through  the  Channel  without  let  or  hindrance. 

Blake's  defeat  caused  such  an  outcry  in  England  that 
Cromwell  went  personally  down  to  Spithead  where  the 
fleet  was  anchored,  and  caused  the  arrest  of  a  number 
of  captains  and  condemned  them  to  pay  a  heavy  fine 
for  their  alleged  cowardice.  Ascue,  an  able  com- 
mander himself,  openly  accused  Blake  of  deserting 
him,  charging  him  with  the  whole  blame  of  the  defeat, 
and  left  the  service  in  disgust.  On  the  other  hand, 
Tromp's  courage  and  ability  were  highly  praised  in 
England,  and  even  to  this  day  his  manoeuvre  which 
prevented  Blake  to  sail  around  the  cape  and  compelled 
him  to  return  to  the  Downs  and  make  for  the  Thames, 
is  compared  with  the  tactics  employed  by  Nelson 
against  the  French  at  Aboukir. 

The  next  great  battle  in  which  Tromp  figured  was 
the  bitter  three-days'  fight  off  Portland.  No  sooner 
had  the  result  of  the  last  battle  been  learned  than  Par- 
liament at  once  ordered  the  fitting  out  of  a  strong  fleet 
to  go  in  search  of  Tromp,  destroy  him  if  possible,  and 
capture  the  merchant  fleet  which  it  was  known  that  he 
would  again  have  to  convoy.  This  fleet  numbered  sev- 
e'nty  sail,  some  of  them  the  most  formidable  warships 
that  had  ever  been  built  for  the  English  navy.  By  a 
liberal  use  of  the  pressgang  it  was  manned  with  a  large 


1 66  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

number  of  able  and  experienced  seamen.  Robert  Blake 
was  again  in  chief  comand.  Under  him  stood  Richard 
Deane  and  George  Monk,  men  inexperienced  at  sea, 
but  of  undoubted  courage — true,  strong,  determined 
Englishmen.  What  these  lacked  in  naval  experience 
was  fully  supplied  by  the  vice-admirals,  William  Penn 
and  Lawson,  to  whom  England  owed  much  of  what- 
ever success  she  gained  in  the  present  war. 

Early  in  February,  1653,  Tromp  was  off  the  little 
island  De  Re,  nearly  opposite  La  Rochelle  in  France, 
repairing  and  revictualling  his  fleet.  He  had  just  re- 
turned from  convoying  a  large  fleet  of  merchantmen 
on  their  way  to  the  Mediterranean  and  across  the  At- 
lantic. As  soon  as  his  fleet  was  in  proper  condition  he 
set  sail  to  gather  up  the  homeward  bound  ships  that 
were  bringing  their  rich  cargoes  to  Holland.  These, 
when  all  had  been  collected,  numbered  150.  But,  again 
baffled  by  wind  and  weather,  it  was  not  till  the  24th 
that  he  could  proceed.  Then,  with  the  merchant  fleet 
in  his  center,  every  sail  was  set  for  home,  while  every 
heart  on  board  the  homecoming  craft  beat  high  with 
the  hope  of  soon  again  breathing  their  native  air  and 
refreshing  themselves  from  the  toil  and  fatigue  of 
their  long  voyages.  There  was  a  foe  lurking,  however, 
determined  to  give  them  their  reward,  if  possible,  in 
English  prisons.  On  the  28th  of  February,  off  Port- 
land, this  foe  appeared  in  the  shape  of  Blake's  fleet. 
No  sooner  did  he  discover  Tromp  than  he  made  for 
him,  with  the  evident  intention  to  dispute  his  passage. 
Tromp  did  not  wait  for  the  attack,  but,  though  greatly 
hampered  by  the  150  defenceless  merchantmen,  he 
flung  out  the  signal  for  assault.  He  himself  with 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  167 

designated,  at  either  Enkhuyzen  or  Hoorn,  cities  on  the 
center,  and  De  Ruyter  the  rear.  The  Dutch  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  wind  and  were  therefore  soon  in  touch 
with  the  enemy.  Florisz,  having  Jhe  fleeter  sailer, 
passed  his  chief  and  made  at  once  for  one  of  the  Eng- 
lish vice-admirals.  Tromp  himself  made  for  Blake, 
who  was  already  firing  his  thirty-seven  pounders  at 
him  from  afar  without  much  effect.  The  Dutch  ad- 
miral did  not  so  waste  his  ammunition,  but  waited  till 
he  was  within  a  musketshot  from  the  English  flagship, 
the  Triumph.  Then,  tacking,  and  putting  himself 
alongside  his  antagonist,  he  gave  him  the  full  broad- 
side, and,  instantly  turning  again,  fired  another  broad- 
side on  the  same  side,  and  then,  running  around  his 
bow,  poured  in  a  third  on  the  other  side.  The  terrific 
effect  of  this  swift  storm  of  lead  was  evidenced  by  the 
horrible  cries  that  arose  from  the  English  flagship. 
Blake  found  this  too  hot  for  him  and  for  the  rest  of 
that  day  fought  only  at  a  distance.  Meanwhile  the 
battle  had  become  general  and  was  conducted  on  both 
sides  with  the  utmost  fury.  The  most  dauntless  sailors 
the  world  had  ever  known  were  contending  here  for 
the  mastery  of  the  sea.  The  effects  of  the  obstinate 
struggle  were  multiplying  moment  by  moment.  Here 
masts  were  tumbling  overboard,  yonder  the  rigging 
was  hanging  in  tatters,  there  the  strong  oaken  timbers 
were  crashing  and  balls  went  shrieking  through  sails 
and  cordage.  At  one  point  boarders  and  boarded  were 
hurled  skyward  by  the  exploding  upper  decks ;  at 
another  expiring  sailors  were  uttering  their  last  gasps 
in  the  sea ;  elsewhere  again  helpless  creatures  were 
bobbing  about  on  bits  of  broken  spars,  only  to  be  swal- 


1 68  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

lowed  up  presently  by  the  pitiless  sea.  Seldom  before 
had  the  phrase  "the  many-voiced  sea"  seemed  more 
appropriate.  With  the  howling  of  the  wind  and  the 
moaning  of  the  sea  mingled  the  groaning  of  the 
wounded  and  the  cries  of  the  perishing,  the  incessant 
whistle  and  scream  of  bolts  and  bullets  and  balls,  and 
the  horrid  shriek  of  the  dreadful  chain-shot  that  seem- 
ed to  tear  the  very  air  asunder .  The  sky  was  shrouded 
as  with  a  pall  from  the  smoke  ot  the  hundreds  of  can- 
non, night  seemed  to  cover  the  waters,  while  death 
stalked  abroad  in  every  frightful  form.  Portland  was 
trembling  and  the  hills  of  Boulogne  reverberated  with 
the  ceaseless  thunder  of  the  guns.  Such  was  the  gen- 
eral aspect  of  the  strife;  but  a  few  particulars  deserve 
to  be  more  fully  described,  because  of  the  notable  deeds 
of  daring  and  heroism  which  this  day  furnished. 

De  Ruyter  had  thrown  himself  upon  the  rear  divi- 
sion of  the  English  fleet  and  had  become  engaged  with 
a  large  forty-four  gun  ship,  the  Prosperity;  but  its 
batteries  pounded  his  ship  so  fearfully  that  he  deter- 
mined to  board  it.  Putting  himself  yard-arm  to  yard- 
arm  witfh  his  opponent,  his  men,  agile  as  cats,  board- 
ing-axe and  cutlass  in  hand,  jumped  or  clambered  on 
board  the  Prosperity.  But  the  reception  given  them 
was  so  very  unfriendly  and  vigorous  that  they  scurried 
back  to  their  own  vessel  even  more  quickly  than  they 
had  come.  But  here  they  were  met  by  De  Ruyter  who 
seldom  gave  up  an  undertaking  when  once  begun. 
"This  will  never  do,  boys,"  he  cried.  "Once  on  board 
always  on  board.  Hurrah !  over  you  go  again."  And 
back  once  more  they  go,  and  now  fall  upon  the  English 
tars  with  such  impetuous  force  as  in  a  short  time  to 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON    TROMP.  169 

make  them  masters  of  the  ship.  As  De  Ruyter  was  get- 
ting ready  to  carry  off  this  prize,  he  was  suddenly 
beset  by  a  throng  of  no  less  than  twenty  of  the  enemy, 
each  eager  not  only  to  wrest  the  prize  out  of  his  grasp 
but  to  avenge  their  comrades.  With  marvelous  cour- 
age and  skill  he  maintained  his  ground  in  this  unequal 
contest.  This,  however,  could  not  have  lasted  long, 
and  he  would  inevitably  have  been  sunk  or  captured,  if 
his  townsman,  John  Evertsen,  had  not  come  to  his  res- 
cue. He,  dashing  into  the  crowding  enemy  with  his 
accustomed  daring,  thundered  at  them  with  such  fury 
and  swiftness  as  to  compel  several  to  sheer  off,  thus 
making  it  possible  for  De  Ruyter  to  cut  his  way  out. 

Another  of  the  notable  heroes  of  that  day  was  Cap- 
tain A.  Cruyck,  commander  of  the  Dutch  East  India- 
man  the  Ostrich.  He  and  Isaac  Sweers,  of  Amster- 
dam, with  their  two  ships,  were  engaged  with  seven 
of  the  English  vessels,  among  them  that  of  the  vice- 
admiral  William  Penn.  The  latter  was  damaged  so 
badly  that  he  fled  toward  the  Isle  of  Wight,  while 
another  of  the  seven  had  all  its  masts  shot  away  and 
was  dragged  out  of  the  battle.  Cruyck  kept  up  the 
fight  as  long  as  he  had  a  man  left  to  handle  a  gun.  But 
his  ship  had  been  turned  into  a  veritable  slaughter- 
house. Its  decks  were  fairly  afloat  with  the  blood  that 
was  running  in  streams  through  the  scuppers,  while 
eighty  of  his  men  were  lying  dead  among  the  wounded 
that  were  scattered  everywhere.  Of  forty  young  men 
from  Schiedam,  mere  lads,  each  not  yet  twenty  years 
of  age,  only  three  were  found  alive.  Tromp,  whose  eye 
seemed  to  be  everywhere,  seing  the  desperate  condition 
of  the  heroic  Schiedammer,  sent  Captain  De  Wilde  to 


1 70  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

bring  him  out  of  his  perilous  position.  All  he  could  do, 
however,  was  to  take  off  the  few  men  that  remained. 
The  battered  Ostrich  had  to  be  left  to  its  fate.  It  was 
subsequently  found  by  the  English  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Portsmouth,  and  by  them  dragged  ashore.  We 
shall  meet  with  her  again  when  we  come  to  tell  the 
story  of  De  Ruyter.  The  intrepid  Cruyck  must  have 
also  given  his  life  for  the  fatherland  in  this  battle,  as 
there  is  no  further  mention  of  his  name.  Sweers  turn- 
ed to  another  part  of  the  field,  after  Penn  had  fled,  and 
soon  became  engaged  in  another  severe  contest.  This 
time  he  joined  De  Ruyter  and  Captain  Poort  against 
a  greatly  superior  force  under  the  vice-admiral,  Pea- 
cock. Poort,  who  was  engaged  witih  three  of  the  Eng- 
lish, had  the  good  fortune  to  send  one  of  them  to  the 
bottom ;  but  his  own  ship  had  received  so  many  shots 
below  the  water-line  that  it  threatened  to  sink  under 
him,  so  that  he  was  compelled  to  signal  Sweers  for 
help.  In  doing  this,  however,  by  some  accident  or  un- 
avoidable circumstance,  the  ship  of  Poort  got  afoul  of 
one  of  the  English  vessels,  careened  and  went  to  the 
bottom,  dragging  its  opponent  with  it.  All  of  her  crew 
that  could  be  rescued  were  taken  on  board  by  Sweers, 
but  the  wounded,  among  whom  was  the  heroic  Poort 
himself,  found  their  graves  in  the  deep.  After  the  res- 
cue of  his  countrymen  Sweers  still  kept  up  the  fight 
with  the  last  of  the  three  and  soon  sent  it  to  join  its 
comrades.  But  as  he  was  turning  his  helm  to  take  part 
in  the  battle  elsewhere,  he  was  attacked  by  four  of  the 
English  at  once  and  so  terribly  battered  that  his  ship, 
too,  found  its  grave  in  the  deep.  He  and  his  men  were 
made  prisoners  and  carried  to  London.  Here  he  gassed 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON    TROMP.  I?1 

himself  off  as  a  Spaniard,  an  easy  thing  to  do  as  he 
spoke  Spanish  like  a  native,  and  with  the  assistance  of 
the  Spanish  ambassador  found  his  way  back  to  Hol- 
land. Twenty  years  thereafter  he  lost  his  life  in 
another  seafight  on  the  coast  of  Holland.  Captain  Jacob 
Cleydyck,  of  Briel,  had  to  maintain  himself  against 
three  of  the  enemy,  and  seemed  on  the  point  of  defeat 
when  Captain  Regemorter  came  to  his  aid,  sailing 
straight  between  Cleydyck's  ship  and  one  of  the  Eng- 
lish. Thus  left  free  on  one  side  Cleydyck  poured  such 
a  terrific  and  rapid  fire  into  his  other  opponent  that  it 
whirled  around  like  a  top  and  went  to  the  bottom. 
Then,  turning,  he  attacked  the  other  that  had  grappled 
with  that  of  Regemorter,  but  was  in  his  turn  so  hotly 
received  that  his  own  ship  began  to  sink.  All  efforts 
to  stop  the  many  leaks  were  fruitless ;  hand  over  hand 
the  water  so  gained  upon  them  that  several  of  the  crew 
were  swept  overboard.  Suddenly  Cleydyck  makes  a 
bold  resolve.  With  sword  in  hand  and  followed  by  the 
forty  that  still  remained  of  his  crew  he  leaps  over  the 
bulwarks  of  the  enemy.  With  a  headlong  rush  they 
cut  their  way  through  the  dumfounded  Englishmen 
and  jump  over  to  the  ship  of  Regemorter.  Here  the 
reinforcement  was  most  welcome  and  timely.  The 
captain  and  nearly  half  of  his  crew  were  lying  dead  or 
dying  on  deck.  Cleydyck  at  once  assumes  command,  and 
by  word  and  deed  so  inspires  the  men  that  they  soon 
rendered  their  enemy  helpless  and  sent  him  also  to  a 
watery  tomb. 

Two  of  the  enemy  have  shut  in  the  ship  of  Captain 
Wiglema,  a  Frisian.  For  a  long  time  he  keeps  up  the 
contest  with  unsurpassed  courage,  but  seeing  that  defeat 


17*  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

was  inevitable,  he  sets  fire  to  the  magazine  and  sends 
both  his  own  ship  and  his  two  assailants  to  destruction. 
Less  heroic  was  the  fate  of  the  crew  of  the  Dutch  ship 
The  Gate  of  Troy.  This  having  captured  one  of  the 
enemy,  its  crew  jumped  aboard  the  prize,  but  there  in- 
dulged so  freely  in  the  wine  found  on  board  that  they 
paid  no  heed  to  the  water  that  was  fast  coming  in 
through  the  leaks.  While  these  are  drinking  them- 
selves drunk  their  prize  suddenly  lurches  and  sinks, 
dragging  its  captor  with  it,  whose  rigging  was  entan- 
gled with  its  own. 

One  of  the  captains  of  DeRuyter's  squadron,  Aert  Van 
Nes,  had  penetrated  into  the  thick  of  the  enemy's  fleet. 
Here  he  defended  himself  with  the  greatest  hardihood 
and  skill  against  two  of  the  English  vice-admirals. 
When  he  had  beaten  these  off,  he  perceived  De  Ruyter 
beset  by  four  or  five  of  the  enemy,  and  instantly  hasten- 
ed to  his  commander's  assistance.  Commodore  Block 
followed  him,  and  then  the  three  togetner  forced  the 
foes  to  take  to  their  heels.  The  brave  Van  Nes  had 
fired  his  last  cartridge  and  his  bowsprit  had  been  shot 
off  close  by  the  stern. 

In  this  way  it  had  come  to  be  four  in  the  afternoon. 
At  this  moment  Tromp  discovered  several  of  the  swift- 
est English  frigates  making  for  the  merchant  fleet, 
which,  in  accordance  with  his  orders,  was  lying  to 
windward  of  the  enemy  off  the  coast  of  France.  It  was 
afterwards  learned  that  the  English  had  intended  to 
disable  these  merchantmen  by  cutting  the  mainmast  of 
each,  so  as  to  prevent  their  escape  and  make  it  the  more 
easy  to  carry  them  off  after  the  battle.  But,  whatever 
their  intention,  Tromp  gave  them  no  chance  to  carry 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  173 

it  into  effect.  Ordering  a  few  of  his  captains  to  follow 
him,  he  overtook  the  intended  captors  and  drove  them 
back  to  their  own  fleet.  With  this  the  battle  was  ended 
for  that  day. 

In  a  council  of  war  held  on  Tromp's  flagship  in  the 
evening  an  earnest  discussion  arose  as  to  the  course  to 
be  followed  on  the  next  day.  The  question  was, 
whether  they  should  begin  the  attack  at  the  risk  of  the 
capture  of  the  merchant  fleet,  because  no  vessels  could 
be  spared  to  convoy  this ;  or  to  stand  on  the  defensive, 
protecting  their  charge  as  well  as  possible,  and  await 
the  attack  on  the  part  of  the  enemy.  The  latter  was 
the  course  proposed  by  Tromp,  and  was  followed, 
though  the  other  admirals  were  more  in  favor  of  the 
former  plan.  It  was  further  determined  to  be  sparing 
of  their  ammunition,  which  was  already  becoming 
scarce,  to  range  the  fleet  in  the  form  of  a  half  moon, 
the  horns  bending  backward,  and  to  place  the  merchant 
fleet  within  the  horns  of  that  semi-circle. 

During  the  night  everything  possible  -was  done  to 
put  the  fleet  in  condition  to  meet  the  foe  in  the  struggle 
of  the  next  day.  The  next  morning  found  the  Eng- 
lish with  the  wind  in  their  favor  and  setting  every  sail 
in  pursuit  of  their  antagonists  of  the  day  before.  It 
was  not  till  ten  or  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  how- 
ever, that  they  came  close  enough  to  each  other  to  re- 
new the  fight,  about  three  miles  from  the  Isle  of  Wight. 
The  battle  was  equally  obstinate  and  bloody  with  that 
of  the  preceding  day.  Six  times  Blake  attempted  to 
break  through  Tromp's  ranks,  but  each  time  only  to  be 
repulsed.  There  was  no  exception  now  to  the  courage 
and  ability  displayed  by  the  captains  of  the  Dutch 


174         NAVAL  HEROES  OF  HOLLAND. 

forces.  But  Tromp,  Evertsen,  De  Ruyter,  Van  Nes, 
and  Florisz  were  again  always  at  the  points  of  greatest 
peril.  Never  did  their  fleet  maintain  its  position  more 
firmly  than  now,  and  more  than  once  it  was  at  the  point 
of  victory,  if  the  merchant  fleet  had  not  prevented 
Tromp  from  following  up  the  advantages  gained.  For 
the  safety  of  this  very  much  had  to  be  sacrificed.  De 
Ruyter  again  fought  with  incomparable  heroism.  Till 
late  in  the  afternoon  he  maintained  himself  alone  in  the 
very  heart  of  the  English  fleet  against  overwhelming 
numbers,  and  at  last  succeeded  in  beating  them  off. 
There  was  scarcely  a  stick  left  on  the  ship  on  which  to 
rig  a  sail,  so  that  Tromp  had  to  order  one  of  his  cap- 
tains to  take  De  Ruyter  in  tow.  That  he  had  not  been 
sunk  or  captured  filled  all,  both  friend  and  foe,  with 
amazement. 

Meanwhile  a  panic  seems  to  have  seized  upon  some 
of  the  merchantmen,  for  a  number  of  them  left  their 
station  and  steered  for  Havre  de  Grace.  As  soon  as 
this  was  perceived  Tromp  sent  Van  Nes  to  order  them 
to  make  for  the  Strait  of  Dover.  Had  they  obeyed,  not 
a  sail  of  them  would  have  been  lost.  But  they  disre- 
garded the  order  and  kept  on  their  course.  As  there 
were  no  ships  to  spare  from  the  Dutch  fleet  to  protect 
them,  they  were  left  to  reap  the  consequence  of  their 
folly.  About  a  dozen  of  them  fell  a  prey  to  some  of 
Blake's  swiftest  sailers  and  were  carried  as  prizes  to 
England.  This  second  day's  contest  ended  with  the 
burning  of  an  English  ship. 

As  the  day  closed  and  brought  some  respite  to  the 
wearied  crews  Tromp  received  the  disheartening  news 
that  a  number  of  his  ships  had  shot  away  all  their  am- 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  1 75 

munition.  So  far  as  possible  he  furnished  them  pow- 
der and  shot  from  the  only  supply  ship  he  had  with 
him.  But  the  amount  sent  was  far  from  sufficient,  as 
was  abundantly  shown  during  the  next  day.  There 
was  no  doubt  that  the  English  would  follow  up  what 
advantage  they  had  gained  on  the  second  day,  but 
everything  was  done  by  Tromp  to  meet  them  as  boldly 
as  before.  At  daybreak  of  March  2d  his  fleet  was  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Beachy  Head,  where  fourteen 
years  before  he  had  first  discovered  the  overconfident 
Spanish  armada.  The  English  fleet  was  about  a  mile 
from  Dover,  coming  down  before  the  wind  with  the 
evident  intention  of  making  an  end  of  its  opponent 
Tromp  had  his  ships  again  ranged  in  the  form  of  a 
half  moon,  within  which  the  merchantmen  and  the  war- 
vessels  that  could  not  be  supplied  with  ammunition 
were  enclosed.  At  ten  o'clock  the  fleets  once  more 
came  in  contact  and  the  shock  of  battle  commenced 
again.  The  Hollanders  defended  themselves  so  well, 
however,  that  for  some  time  the  enemy  could  gain  no 
advantage.  The  vice-admiral  of  the  blue  flag  came 
thundering  toward  the  Dutch  commander-in-chief ;  but 
Tromp  awaited  him  without  firing  a  shot  till  they  were 
so  near  each  other  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  a 
single  shot  to  miss.  Then  Tromp  gave  his  foe  first  the 
one  and  then  the  other  broadside  so  that,  riddled  in 
every  part,  the  Englishman  was  glad  to  beat  a  hasty 
retreat.  Not  a  single  one  of  Tromp's  captains  but 
fought  with  unflagging  courage,  while  the  ability  to 
fight  remained.  Even  De  Ruyter's  almost  dismasted 
hulk  was  one  of  the  foremost  in  the  fight  till,  at  last, 
it  was  rendered  completely  helpless,  though  even  then 


1 76  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

De  Ruyter  kept  it  out  of  the  clutches  of  the  enemy. 
The  conflict  had  lasted  but  a  couple  of  hours,however, 
when  it  was  found  that  nearly  one  half  of  the  fleet  was 
without  either  shot  or  powder.  And  now  there  was 
none  to  give  them.  This  fatal  fact  led  many  captains 
to  set  all  sail  to  escape.  But  Tromp,  who  never  lost  his 
presence  of  mind  or  his  marvelous  equanimity,  sent  a 
few  shots  after  them  and  asked  whether  they  were  now 
going  to  play  the  coward.  When  told  the  reason  of 
their  attempt  at  flight,  he  ordered  them  to  place  them- 
selves by  the  main  body  and  to  make  it  appear  that 
they  were  posted  there  to  protect  the  merchantmen.  At 
the  same  time  he  assured  them  that  he  would  protect 
both  them  and  the  merchant  fleet  with  the  few  ships 
which  still  had  ammunition.  His  fighting  force  was 
now  reduced  to  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  ships.  But 
that  day  not  a  single  man-of-war  was  lost  by  him,  and 
only  a  few  of  the  merchant  vessels,  and  that  only  be- 
cause of  their  repeated  disregard  of  orders. 

About  two  hours  before  sunset  Blake,  having  gath- 
ered his  entire  fleet  for  a  final  effort,  gave  the  signal 
for  a  general  attack.  Tromp  quietly  awaited  him  with 
lowered  topsails.  And  now  the  most  terrific  struggle 
of  those  terrible  three  days  ensued,  in  which  Tromp 
and  John  Evertsen  bore  the  brunt  of  the  fight.  That 
the  Dutch  fleet  was  not  at  once  annhilated  may  well  be 
considered  a  marvel.  But  it  resisted  so  doggedly  that 
after  an  hour  Blake  suddenly  drew  off,  to  the  great 
astonishment  and  relief  of  Tromp  and  his  comrades. 
Could  Blake  have  known  that  there  was  barely  ammu- 
nition enough  left  in  his  opponent's  fleet  for  another 
half-hour's  fighting,  he  might  have  gained  a  complete 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  177 

victory  and  captured  not  only  all  the  well-laden  mer- 
chant ships  but  most  of  the  fighting  vessels  of  Tromp. 

The  loss  on  both  sides  in  killed  and  wounded  was 
great,  while  that  of  officers  on  the  part  of  the  English 
was  far  more  severe  than  that  of  the  Dutch,  Blake  and 
Lawson  being  among  the  wounded.  On  the  other 
hand,  by  this  battle  Tromp's  fame  was  rather  enhanced 
than  diminished.  Hume,  in  his  history  of  England, 
himself  says:  "Blake,  who  was  the  victor,  gained  not 
more  honor  than  Tromp,  who  was  the  vanquished." 
Nay,  when  the  facts  are  looked  at  from  this  distant 
day,  Tromp  must  be  reckoned  the  victor.  Taking  into 
consideration  the  facts  that  he  was  hampered  by  the 
duty  of  protecting  a  large  merchant  fleet ;  that  his  ships 
were  generally  of  lighter  calibre  than  those  of  Blake; 
that  he  was  fighting  far  from  his  base  of  supplies ;  that 
during  the  third  day  more  than  half  his  fleet  was  put 
hors  de  combat  for  lack  of  ammunition ;  and  that,  not- 
withstanding this,  he  maintained  his  ground,  while 
Blake  drew  off,  it  would  seem  as  if  the  English  were 
the  vanquished  and  not  the  victors.  Then,  too,  Tromp 
had  successfully  protected  and  preserved  his  charge  and 
brought  the  main  part  of  them  and  his  own  fleet  into 
the  safe  harbors  of  Holland,  and  thus  preserved  his 
fatherland  from  an  enormous  loss  and  overwhelming 
disgrace. 

It  is  impossible  to  follow  the  great  hero  in  all  his  bat- 
tles. We  will  therefore  close  this  sketch  with  that  one 
in  which  he  gave  his  life  literally  for  the  defence  of  his 
fatherland. 

After  repeated  complaints  about  the  condition  of 
the  Dutch  fleet  on  the  part  of  the  most  noted  com- 


178  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

manders,  among  them  particularly  Tromp  and  De 
Ruyter,  who  even  threatened  to  leave  the  service  unless 
their  recommendations  for  the  improvement  of  the 
navy  were  regarded,  a  fleet  was  finally  fitted  out  better 
calculated  both  in  number  and  size  of  ships  and  in  the 
quantity  and  calibre  of  guns,  to  cope  with  those  of  Eng- 
land. Until  then  Holland  had  always  been  inferior 
both  in  the  number  of  her  war  vessels  and  in  their 
equipment,  and  yet  even  with  these  her  admirals  had 
again  and  again  been  victorious.  But  in  the  last  year 
or  two  several  severe  defeats  had  been  suffered  that 
might  not  only  have  been  avoided,  but  changed  into 
victories,  if  the  opposing  forces  had  been  more  equally 
matched.  Even  now  the  vessels  fitted  out  for  the  pres- 
ent purpose  were  still  inferior  to  those  that  had  been 
prepared  in  England.  In  the  English  fleet  was  a  three- 
decker,  the  Royal  Sovereign,  carrying  112  guns, 
another  of  88  guns,  three  carrying  60  to  66  guns  each, 
five  of  56  to  58  guns,  three  of  50,  and  25  of  from  40  to 
48  guns,  while  only  thirteen  were  armed  with  less  than 
30  guns  each.  This  was  the  fleet  under  Monk,  and 
does  not  include  that  of  twenty  ships  under  Blake 
which  also  took  part  in  the  battle  to  be  described.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  entire  strength  of  the  Dutch  navy 
consisted  of  two  54  gun  ships,  twenty-seven  of  40  to  46 
guns  each,  sixty-six  of  30  to  38  guns,  and  one  hundred 
and  seventeen  carrying  from  22  to  28  guns.  This  with 
twelve  fireships  constituted  the  fighting  force  at  sea 
of  the  Dutch  Republic  in  1653.  Then  as  to  the  fighting 
force  in  men,  the  fleet  of  Holland  was  still  more  in- 
ferior. Tromp's  flagship,  the  Brederode,  the  largest  in 
the  fleet,  was  manned  by  only  250  sailors  and  soldiers, 


MARTIN    IIARPEKTSSON    TROMP.  179 

while  some  of  the  English  ships  had  crews  ranging 
from  300  to  600  men. 

In  the  summer  of  1653  an  English  fleet  appeared  off 
the  coast  of  Holland  so  formidable  that  it  filled  all 
hearts  in  the  republic  with  apprehension.  It  numbered 
no  less  than  105  ships  under  Monk,  Penn  and  Lawson, 
and  was  during  the  battle  yet  further  strengthened  by 
a  fleet  of  20  under  Blake.  To  oppose  this  mighty  force 
there  were  at  first  only  82  vessels  under  Tromp,  John 
Evertsen  and  De  Ruyter,  while  De  Witt  was  lying  in  L- 
the  Texel  with  a  fleet  of  27  vessels  and  4  fireships. 
Monk  determined  evidently  to  prevent  the  union  of 
these  two  and  to  attack  and  defeat  Tromp  before  De 
Witt  could  re-enforce  him.  On  die  8th  of  August  both 
hostile  fleets  were  in  the  neighborhood  of  Egmond  on 
the  northwest  coast  of  Holland,  the  English  having 
the  advantage  of  the  wind.  Tromp  turned  toward  the 
south,  both  to  avoid  a  battle  with  such  a  superior  force 
and  to  leave  more  room  for  De  Witt  to  get  into  the 
open  sea.  In  the  first  purpose  he  failed,  for  some  of  his 
slower  vessels  were  overtaken  by  the  swifter  of  the 
English  and  at  once  attacked.  Witih  this  the  battle 
began,  and  soon  it  became  general.  The  terrific  char- 
acter of  the  contest  that  now  ensued  baffles  the  imagi- 
nation to  conceive  or  the  pen  to  describe.  Two  hundred 
fighting  ships  were  belching  forth  thunder^ind  light- 
ning from  thousands  of  guns.  The  very  shores  rocked 
with  the  concussion  and  the  echoes  reverberated  among 
the  dunes.  Says  a  writer  of  that  day,  "The  sea  bel- 
lowed with  fear;  the  sun  hid  its  face  from  the  cruel 
scenes  of  slaughter;  never  did  death  haunt  the  sea 
more  greedy  for  victims.  In  the  thick  throng  of  ships 


180  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

the  murderous  lead  and  iron  could  scarcely  miss  some 
object  to  shatter  or  destroy.  Hulls,  keels,  and  sails 
were  rent  by  aimless  shot.  Here  some  were  stopping 
the  leaks ;  there  others  were  repairing  the  rigging  only 
to  be  stopped  in  their  work  and  hurled  to  death.  Now 
broadside  after  broadside  would  smash  the  entire  side 
of  a  ship  so  that  the  guns  leaped  from  their  carriages, 
their  crews  were  strewn  mangled  on  the  deck,  the  rig- 
ging was  torn  to  rags  and  the  ship's  side  reduced  to 
splinters."  Tromp  was  as  yet  only  acting  on  the  de- 
fensive, since  he  did  not  wish  to  spend  his  strength  be- 
fore the  arrival  of  De  Witt.  He  had  ranged  his  fleet 
again  in  the  form  of  a  half  moon,  the  manoeuvre  that 
had  so  often  proved  successful,  and  kept  his  ranks  so 
close  that  every  effort  on  the  part  of  Monk  to  break 
through  them  was  frustrated.  For  this  reason  he  lost 
not  a  single  ship,  although  those  of  Evertsen  and  De 
Ruyter  had  lost  their  topmasts  and  their  sails  were 
hanging  in  rags.  About  midnight  Tromp  wrote  the 
last  dispatch  he  ever  sent  to  his  government,  ending 
with  these  words :  "Time  will  show  what  the  issue  of 
to-morrow's  fight  will  be.  We  pray  God  that  it  may 
result  in  the  honor,  advantage  and  glory  of  our 
fatherland.  If  we  had  the  reinforcements  from  the 
Texel,  we  would  doubtless  be  able  to  drive  the  enemy 
from  our  coasts.  As  for  myself,  the  government  may 
rely  upon  it  that  I  shall  not  fail  to  do  all  that  my  honor 
and  oath  demand." 

When  the  booming  of  the  cannon,  which  could  be 
plainly  heard  where  De  Witt  was  lying,  made  it  plain 
to  him  that  Tromp  was  already  engaged  with  the  en- 
emy, and  that  at  no  great  distance,  he  determined,  cost 


MARTIN   HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  l8l 

what  it  might,  to  take  his  squadron  out  to  the  place  of 
conflict.  But  the  place  where  he  lay  was  a  very  difficult 
and  dangerous  one  through  which  to  take  a  fleet  out  to 
sea.  The  wind,  too,  was  dead  against  him,  the  tide 
was  down,  and  the  night  was  darkened  by  a  violent 
rain  which  completely  shut  out  the  moon,  though  now 
at  the  full.  Nevertheless,  in  the  face  of  all  difficulties 
and  the  repeated  assertions  of  the  pilots  that  they 
would  not  dare  to  take  the  fleet  to  sea  he  determined  to 
carry  out  his  plan.  And  they  had  good  reasons  for 
their  refusal  in  the  fact  that,  besides  the  obstacles  al- 
ready mentioned,  every  beacon  and  buoy  had  been  re- 
moved on  the  approach  of  the  English  fleet.  De  Witt 
was  not  the  man,  however,  to  be  baffled  by  any  ob- 
stacles. Eager  to  join  in  the  fight,  he  becomes  himself 
the  pilot  for  his  fleet.  Collecting  a  number  of  fishing 
sloops,  he  furnished  them  with  lanterns  and  torches 
and  sent  them  ahead  with  orders  to  arrange  themselves 
on  either  side  of  the  sandbanks.  In  this  way  he  avoid- 
ed the  shallows,  and  by  tacking  brought  his  fleet  of  24 
ships  and  4  fireships  out  into  the  open  sea,  a  feat  that 
astonished  the  most  experienced  seaman.  Though  the 
weather  was  still  very  rough  he  had  the  wind  in  his 
favor  and  could  make  at  once  for  the  main  fleet. 

On  the  Qth  of  August  Tromp  and  his  fleet  were  off 
Scheveningen,  that  now  famous  seaside  resort  a  few 
miles  west  of  The  Hague.  Monk  was  not  far  off,  but 
the  wind  was  too  high  to  give  battle ;  therefore  Tromp 
turned  southward  toward  the  mouth  of  the  Meuse,  the 
English  fleet  also  turning  and  following  to  windward. 
About  noon  De  Witt  hove  in  sight  and  joined  the 
others  in  spite  of  every  effort  on  the  part  of  the  Eng- 


l8»  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

lish  to  prevent  this.  Blake  had  by  this  time  also  joined 
Monk.  Both  the  fleets  were  thus  complete  now,  but 
that  of  the  English  excelled  that  of  the  Dutch  by  14 
ships,  besides  their  superiority  in  size,  armament  and 
equipment.  As  soon  as  the  junction  between  De  Witt 
and  Tromp  had  been  formed  the  latter  at  once  veered 
about  to  attack.  This  now  turned  the  tables,  for  the 
manoeuvre  had  no  sooner  been  made  than  the  English 
showed  their  backs  and  retreated,  followed  throughout 
the  night  by  the  Hollanders. 

Thus  broke  the  loth  of  August,  a  Sunday.  On  both 
sides  everything  was  made  ready  for  the  conflict  with 
the  first  break  of  day.  In  the  Dutch  fleet  Tromp  com- 
manded the  right  wing,  De  Witt  the  left,  and  John 
Evertsen  the  center,  while  Rear-Admiral  Peter 
Florisz  commanded  the  rear.  In  this  battle  array 
they  began  the  great  fight  at  seven  A.  M.  As  the 
smoke  from  the  thousands  of  cannon  rose  skyward  the 
morning  sun  was  veiled  as  with  a  shroud.  Once  more 
the  shores  and  dunes  of  Holland  shake  from  the  almost 
ceaseless  detonation,  while  the  terrific  roar  rolls  rever- 
berating along  the  coast.  Tromp  breaks  through  the 
enemy's  fleet  and  dashes  again  at  its  thronging  col- 
umns, at  the  same  time  closely  observing  the  move- 
ments and  condition  of  both  fleets.  His  ship  lies  in  the 
midst  of  the  enemy,  when  the  English  commodore 
Goodson,  followed  by  several  of  his  frigates,  taking 
advantage  of  the  thick  smoke  that  envelops  the  Dutch 
admiral,  slips  up  to  him,  and  with  others  surrounds 
him.  And  this  brings  about  the  greatest  calamity  that 
could  befall  the  Republic.  From  the  third  frigate  that 
followed  Goodson  a  gun  is  levelled  at  the  great  admiral 


MARTIN    I1ARPERTSSON    TROMP.  183 

as  he  stood  on  the  quarter-deck.  Tromp  perceived  it 
and,  thinking  it  was  aimed  at  one  of  the  officers  stand- 
ing by  him,  he  touches  him  on  the  shoulder  saying, 
"Look  out,  my  friend!"  But  scarcely  had  he  uttered 
the  friendly  warning  when  the  bullet  penetrates  his 
own  heart.  A  few  moments  only  after  being  carried 
into  his  cabin  he  expired  with  the  words,  "I  am  done ; 
but  keep  up  a  good  heart."  He  did  not  fall  unavenged, 
however,  for  one  of  the  marines  on  the  Brederode, 
Tromp's  flagship,  took  aim  at  the  captain  of  the  ship 
from  which  the  fatal  bullet  had  sped,  as  he  was  sway- 
ing his  sword  in  apparent  exultation,  and  tumbled  him 
over  dead. 

At  first  the  death  of  their  great  commander  was 
known  to  but  few  of  the  fleet,  and  the  battle  went  on 
with  the  greatest  ardor  and  heroism.  The  advantage 
was  still  with  the  Hollanders.  Three  of  the  enemy's 
ships  were  burned  by  the  fireship  of  Captain  Water- 
drinker.  Elsewhere  two  others  also  became  a  prey  to 
the  flames  while  another  caught  fire  in  its  magazine 
and  exploded.  Monk's  own  flagship,  the  Triumph,  was 
attacked  by  two  fireships,  one  on  either  side,  and  the 
bow  and  forward  deck  were  set  ablaze.  As  the  flames 
rose  they  ran  along  the  masts  and  set  fire  to  the  sails. 
At  this  a  number  of  the  crew  jumped  overboard  to 
escape  the  flames,  of  which  Captain  Peacock  had  al- 
ready become  a  victim.  Meanwhile  one  of  Tromp's 
captains,  Bitter,  kept  thundering  away  at  the  Triumph, 
but  the  second  fireship  got  loose  from  its  intended  vic- 
tim and  drifted  to  leeward.  Hereupon  Monk's  crew 
regained  their  courage  and  succeeded  in  mastering  the 
flames  and  the  Triumph  was  dragged  out  of  the  fight. 


1 84  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

The  St.  Andrew,  which  flew  the  flag  of  the  English 
vice-admiral,  Thomas  Graves,  was  so  fiercely  attacked 
by  Peter  Florisz  that  it  took  fire  and  burned  to  the 
water's  edge,  Graves  himself  finding  the  death  of  a 
hero.  Captain  John  De  Haas,  with  the  Rosekrantz,  got 
into  a  life  and  death  struggle  with  three  of  the  enemy ; 
his  ship  lost  masts  and  sails  and  was  in  flames;  his 
crew  was  reduced  to  a  handful,  yet  he  cut  his  way  out 
and  brought  his  almost  shattered  hulk  safe  into  port. 
Among  all  the  heroic  deeds  done  in  either  fleet  that  of 
the  Dutch  captain  Marrevelt  well  deserves  the  palm. 
Alone  and  opposed  to  a  greatly  superior  force  his  ship 
was  boarded  by  the  crews  of  several  of  the  enemy  at 
once,  when,  though  his  blood  was  flowing  from  not  less 
than  eighteen  wounds,  he  and  his  crew  fell  with  such 
rage  upon  the  enemy  that  they  fled  pell-mell  back  to 
their  own.  He,  too,  had  the  good  fortune  to  bring  his 
vessel,  though  fearfully  battered,  into  port  in  safety. 

John  Evertsen,  who  according  to  the  instructions  of 
the  government,  had  to  assume  the  chief  command 
after  Tromp's  death,  had  thrown  himself  as  usual  into 
the  thickest  of  the  fray,  and  was  both  giving  and  re- 
ceiving many  death-dealing  blows.  He  himself  was 
wounded,  though  slightly,  his  son  Cornelius  severely; 
his  masts  were  tottering,  his  sails  in  tatters,  and  his 
ship  had  received  twenty  shots  below  the  water-line,  so 
that  it  was  on  the  point  of  foundering.  Surrounded  by 
enemies,  there  was  no  chance  to  abandon  ship  and  to 
go  over  to  another.  Capture  or  destruction  seemed 
inevitable.  Nothing  remained  but  to  cut  his  way  out, 
if  that  were  possible  in  his  present  condition.  And  he 
makes  it  possible.  Like  a  wounded  bull  freeing  himself 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  1 85 

from  the  leopard  dragging  him  down,  he  shakes  off  his 
assailants  and  saves  himself  and  ship.  De  Witt  wrote 
to  the  government  afterwards  that  he  felt  sure  that  the 
dauntless  Zeeland  admiral  had  found  his  grave  in  the 
waves. 

De  Ruyter,  too,  was  again  performing  wonders  of 
heroism.  Wherever  the  din  of  battle  was  most  severe 
he  was  to  be  found.  His  onset  was  at  times  so  irresist- 
ible that  whole  English  squadrons  retreated  before 
him.  And  yet  his  ship,  The  Lamb  (a  most  unsuitable 
name  for  such  ferocious  business),  only  mounted  forty 
guns  and  was  manned  by  but  150  men.  At  last,  with 
forty-three  of  his  crew  dead  and  thirty-five  wounded, 
more  than  half  of  his  entire  command,  with  everything 
nearly  shot  to  pieces,  leaving  only  his  mizzenmast 
standing,  and  yet  still  almost  hemmed  in  by  the  foe,  he 
followed  the  example  of  Evertsen  and  cut  his  way  out. 
As  it  was  impossible  to  find  another  ship  with  which 
to  keep  up  his  end  of  the  battle,  since  each  had  its  own 
hands  full  in  the  terrible  struggle,  he,  too,  deemed  hinv 
self  fortunate  to  escape  capture  or  the  utter  loss  of  his 
ship. 

Amid  all  this  strife  and  havoc  it  had  come  to  be  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when  the  fleets  drew  off  some- 
what from  each  other,  as  if  to  take  a  breathing  spell. 
Thousands  of  people  were  crowding  the  shores  to 
listen  to  the  din  and  uproar  of  the  awful  combat,  every 
heart  beating  with  anxious  fear  and  foreboding.  Pass- 
ing Scheveningen,  the  fleets  were  gradually  carried 
northward,  the  Dutch  following  up  the  English. 
Meanwhile  the  Hollanders  had  been  supplied  by  some 


1 86  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

fishing    smacks    with    30,000  pounds  of  powder  and 
other  ammunition. 

Though  the  wind  was  unfavorable  to  them,  the 
Dutch  might  yet  have  inflicted  a  crushing  blow  upon 
their  foes,  if  all  their  captains  had  fully  cooperated. 
But  the  death  of  Tromp  had  deprived  them  of  the 
guiding  head  and  inspiring  genius.  As  said  before, 
in  case  of  Tromp's  death  John  Evertsen  was  to  succeed 
to  the  command,  and,  failing  him,  De  Witt  was  to  take 
the  lead.  But  Evertsen's  ship  was  no  longer  fit  for 
battle,  and  in  the  confusion  he  had  not  been  able  to 
step  over  into  another,  while  De  Witt  was  at  this  mo- 
ment still  ignorant  of  the  loss  of  the  commander-in- 
chief.  This  calamity,  however,  seems  to  have  become 
known  elsewhere  in  the  fleet  and  had  filled  some  of  the 
captains  with  such  consternation  that  more  than  twenty 
of  them  set  sail  to  get  out  of  harm's  way.  Of  these 
De  Witt  wrote  in  his  report :  "We  now  found  to  our 
sorrow  some  of  the  captains  going  their  old  gait,  hur- 
rying to  place  themselves  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
enemy.  If  these  poltroons  had  been  strung  up  long  ago 
for  similar  cause,  they  could  not  now  have  deserted 
us."  This  disgraceful  conduct  not  only  further  weak- 
ened the  Dutch  fleet,  but  seriously  affected  the  spirits 
of  the  rest,  and,  what  was  worse,  broke  the  line 
of  battle.  The  English  soon  perceived  the  changed 
condition  of  affairs  and  instantly  took  advantage  of  it. 
They  turned  and  fell  upon  the  now  disordered  ranks 
of  their  opponents  with  redoubled  zeal.  De  Witt  hav- 
ing perforce  taken  the  command,  sent  shot  upon  shot 
after  the  fleeing  cowards;  but  they  held  on  their  way 
and,  as  they  sped  homeward  along  the  coast,  they  even 


MARTIN    HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  187 

spread  the  news  that  all  was  lost.  No  choice  was  left 
to  De  Witt  now  but  to  retreat.  He  therefore  gave  the 
signal  for  this  and,  ranging  the  fleet  into  as  good  or- 
der as  possible,  placed  himself  with  thirteen  of  the  best 
remaining  vessels  in  the  rear.  Through  this  guard 
the  English  tried  to  break  again  and  again,  only  to  be 
foiled  each  time  by  the  wary  and  fiery  De  Witt.  The 
heroic  spirit  was  not  dead  in  his  command.  Among 
those  of  his  subordinates  who  distinguished  themselves 
in  this  retreat  was  Peter  Florisz  again.  He  had  in 
charge  the  guarding  of  the  flagship  Brederode,  which 
carried  the  treasured  remains  of  the  great  commander. 
Time  and  again  the  English  tried  to  capture  this,  only 
to  be  driven  back  at  every  attempt. 

For  full  three  hours  Monk  followed  the  Dutch  fleet, 
but  was  constantly  beaten  back  by  De  Witt.  At  last, 
toward  midnight,  the  English  drew  off  and  returned  to 
their  own  coasts. 

Of  the  106  ships  with  which  Tromp  had  sailed  out 
ninety-seven  arrived  safely  in  harbor,  only  nine  having 
been  lost.  The  English  claimed,  indeed,  that  they  had 
sunk,  burned  or  captured  fifty-three  of  their 
enemy's  ships;  but  that  was  a  piece  of  braggadocio 
not  unusual  with  them.  In  reality  they  had  been  by 
far  the  greater  sufferers.  Though  the  number  of  dead 
and  wounded  was  about  equal,  their  ships  had  been  far 
more  severely  punished ;  eleven  were  lost,  and  but  forty 
out  of  the  120  were  able  to  keep  the  sea,  the  rest  being 
taken  in  tow  to  various  of  their  own  harbors. 

The  object  for  which  Tromp  had  been  sent  out  had 
been  fully  accomplished — the  coasts  and  ports  of  Hol- 
land were  freed  from  the  enemy.  But  this  had  been 


1 88  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

achieved  at  the  cost  of  a  life  then  more  valuable  than 
that  of  any  other  among  Holland's  great  seamen:  a 
loss  that  seemed  at  the  time  irreparable.  The  univer- 
sal grief  at  his  death,  not  only  throughout  the  fleet, 
but  in  every  home  of  his  fatherland,  proves  in  how 
great  honor  he  was  held  and  how  highly  his  services 
were  prized.  His  sailors  fairly  worshipped  him  and 
gave  him  the  affectionate  title  of  "Old  Pap,"  while  he 
most  frequently  addressed  them  with  the  affectionate 
phrase,  "my  children."  The  experience  and  ability 
gained  in  his  long  service  were  great;  but  his  native 
talent  for  seamanship,  his  courage  and  valor  were  still 
more  conspicuous.  Yet  all  these  characteristics  were 
even  excelled  by  his  unruffled  calmness,  prudence,  and 
unperturbed  presence  of  mind  in  the  most  desperate 
circumstances.  Noble,  and  honored  as  a  man,  feared 
as  an  enemy,  admired  as  an  unsurpassed  naval  com- 
mander, his  fame  had  gone  through  the  entire  world. 
He  was  the  glory  of  the  Netherland  navy,  the  jewel  of 
his  fatherland,  the  beloved  of  his  nation.  The  great 
head  of  the  State  party  in  Holland,  the  famous  states- 
man, Johan  De  Witt,  though  politically  opposed  to 
Tromp,  thus  loftily  spoke  of  him:  "He  was  a  naval 
hero  whose  equal  the  world  has  seldom  seen,  and  such 
as  the  future  will  scarce  be  able  to  produce."  No  won- 
der, then,  that  his  death  plunged  his  entire  fatherland 
into  mourning. 

With  tenderest  care  and  grief-laden  hearts  the  sail- 
ors took  the  corpse  of  their  great  commander  from  the 
flagship  to  the  black-draped  carriage  that  should  con- 
vey it  to  The  Hague.  Here  the  noble  remains  were 
placed  on  a  funeral  barge  and  were  carried  by  water 


MARTIN   HARPERTSSON   TROMP.  189 

to  Delft,  his  native  city.  They  were  received  here 
with  almost  princely  honors  and  thus  conveyed  to  the 
Old  Church,  where  they  were  placed  in  a  new  tomb 
opened  for  them  in  the  choir.  At  the  expense  of  the 
State  a  magnificent  monument  was  erected  above  this, 
designed  by  one  of  the  first  artists  of  that  day.  His 
great  services  were  further  rewarded  by  the  govern- 
ment in  munificent  largesses  to  his  family.  But  his 
chief  monument,  as  his  highest  reward,  is  found  in  the 
undiminished  homage  still  given  him  by  every  lover 
of  his  fatherland.  This  is  the  sentiment  of  the  lines 
engraved  above  his  tomb,  and  which  may  be  thus 
freely  translated : 

"His  image  deeply  graved  on  each  true  patriot's  heart 
Shall  far  outlast  the  marble  wrought  by  human  art." 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON  DE  RUYTER. 

CLIMBING  FLUSHING  STEEPLE ORIGIN  OF  HIS  NAME — BOY- 
HOOD —  BECOMES  A  SAILOR BATTLES  WITH  PIRATES  AS 

MERCHANT  CAPTAIN — FIRST  COMMAND  IN  THE  NAVY — 
RETURNS  TO  MERCHANT  SERVICE VICTORY  OVER  SPAN- 
IARDS AND  BARBARY  PIRATES  —  FIRST  COMMAND  IN  WAR 

WITH  ENGLAND HEROISM  OF  FRISIAN  CAPTAIN — MADE 

VICE-ADMIRAL  —  SENT    TO    ASSIST    DENMARK    AGAINST 

SWEDEN  AND  POLAND BOMBARDMENT  AND  TAKING  OF 

NYBORG EXPEDITION  TO  WEST  INDIES  AND  AFRICA — DE 

RUYTER  AND  THE  NEGRO  KING MADE  LIEUTENANT -AD- 
MIRAL— FOUR  DAYS'  BATTLE  NEAR  THE  NORTH  FORELAND 
— AN  ARTIST'S  HEROISM — GREAT  VICTORY  AND  DAY  OF 

THANKSGIVING DARING  EXPEDITION  UP  THE  THAMES — 

VICTORY  OVER  COMBINED  ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH  FLEETS 
VICTORIES  OVER  THE  SAME  OFF  THE  COAST  OF  HOL- 
LAND—HAILED AS  PRESERVER  OF  THE  FATHERLAND 

LAST  BATTLE  AND  DEATH CHARACTER  AND  CHARACTER' 

ISTICS — ENGLISH  TESTIMONY  TO  DE  RUYTER' S  GREAT- 
NESS. 

On  a  certain  day  in  the  year  1617  one  of  the 
market  places  of  the  city  of  Flushing  was  filled  with  a 
crowd  of  people  of  all  classes  and  ages.  Fear  and 
anxiety  were  expressed  on  the  faces  of  some,  while 
those  of  others  seemed  angry  and  threatening.  The 
men  were  talking  rapidly  and  gesticulating  wildly, 
while  the  women  stood  silent  with  clasped  hands  and 
tear-dimmed  eyes.  The  gaze  of  all,  however,  was 
directed  to  one  spot,  where  the  cause  of  all  this  disturb- 
ance and  dread  was  found.  On  the  pinnacle  of  the  tall 


BE  HTJTTElEt 
dder    eit^  . 
nraalx  Creueraal 
van  Holland  r  ;  •  I  -  ii«  i  et  [  a  : 


Hertog,  Ridder    eit^  . 

iLti.:  Vdinnraax  Creueraal 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON   DE  RUYTER.  191 

steeple  of  the  great  St.  James'  Church  abutting  on  this 
square  stood  a  little  boy  only  ten  years  old,  with  only 
one  hand  holding  on  to  the  iron  rod  of  the  weather- 
vane  and  with  the  other  saucily  swinging  his  cap. 

The  steeple  was  being  repaired  at  the  time,  and  the 
workmen  had  put  up  a  scaffolding  reaching  a  little 
more  than  half  way,  while  the  rest  of  the  distance  was 
reached  by  ladders.  This  little  fellow,  now  on  that 
dizzy  height,  had  run  away  from  school,  and,  saunter- 
ing by  the  church,  had  taken  it  into  his  head  to  climb 
to  the  very  top  of  the  steeple,  perhaps  with  the  notion 
of  getting  a  far  look  at  the  wild  North  Sea.  When  he 
got  tired  of  playing  his  pranks  there  way  up  in  the  air 
and  of  frightening  all  the  town  down  below,  he  con- 
cluded to  go  back.  But  if  the  climbing  up  had  been 
easy  for  him,  going  down  was  to  be  a  far  different 
matter.  For  while  he  was  up  there  amusing  himself 
the  town  clock  had  struck  twelve,  the  workmen  had 
gone  to  dinner,  and — they  had  taken  away  the  last 
ladder  by  which  he  had  reached  the  top.  Now,  the 
top  of  this  steeple  was  and  is  a  pear-shaped  cone,  cov- 
ered with  slate,  so  that  if  the  little  rascal  had  lost  his 
footing  he  would  inevitably  have  been  dashed  to  pieces 
on  the  rough  pavement,  some  200  feet  below.  But  he 
had  a  clear  head  on  him  even  now.  It  took  him  but  a 
moment  to  determine  how  to  proceed.  He  coolly  sat 
down,  still  holding  on  to  the  iron  rod,  and  with  the 
heels  of  his  heavy-nailed  shoes  broke  off  some  of  the 
slates,  then  letting  himself  slowly  down  he  seized  the 
slats  that  were  thus  uncovered,  and,  setting  himself 
again,  broke  off  some  more  slates  lower  down.  This 
operation  he  repeated  till  he  reached  a  little  window  in 


192  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

the  belly  of  the  cone.  This  being,  fortunately,  unfast- 
ened, he  entered  and  then  rushed  down  the  stairway 
in  haste  to  get  home  and  not  lose  his  dinner.  While 
he  was  thus  engaged  getting  down  that  terribly  steep 
roof  the  multitude  down  below  were  almost  paralyzed 
with  dread,  momentarily  expecting  to  see  his  little 
body  come  plunging  down.  That  he  himself  had  felt 
no  fear  was  shown  by  the  fact  that  when  he  reached 
the  nave  of  the  church  he  even  forgot  his  hunger  and 
entered  the  organ  loft  to  try  his  hand  at  the  great 
instrument.  But  the  noise  which  he  made  in  fumbling 
about  this  brought  the  sexton  upon  him,  who  took  him 
by  the  ear  and  delivered  the  young  scapegrace  into 
the  hands  of  his  father.  Whether  the  trouncing  which 
he  so  richly  deserved  was  administered  to  him  in  the 
good  old-fashioned  style,  we  are  not  told.  Perhaps 
his  father,  as  well  as  his  mother,  was  but  too  glad  to 
get  the  boy  back  alive,  and  therefore  left  the  rod  for 
this  time  unused. 

If  the  adage,  "the  boy  is  father  to  the  man,"  was 
ever  fully  verified,  it  was  in  the  case  of  this  boy,  for 
his  daring  feat  there  on  that  steeple  in  Flushing  was 
fully  prophetic  of  what  he  afterwards  became.  For 
this  boy  was  Michael  Adrianson  De  Ruyter,  whom  the 
world  even  to  this  day  honors  as  one  of  the  greatest 
naval  heroes  of  history. 

Before  proceeding  with  the  story  of  his  great  life, 
let  us  see  how  he  came  by  his  name.  My  boy  readers 
doubtless  know  that  a  few  hundred  years  ago,  and  not 
so  many  either,  people  had  no  surnames.  In  the  Bible, 
too,  we  do  not  read  of  a  Mr.  Shepherd,  a  Mr.  Miller, 
or  Carpenter.  We  read  only  of  David  the  son  of  Jesse, 


STEEPLE   OF    ST.    JAMKS*    CHURCH    AT    FLUSHING. 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON   DE   RUYTER.  IQj 

Saul  the  son  of  Kiss,  Alexander  the  coppersmith,  etc. 
So  in  the  chronicles  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  cen- 
turies there  are  no  Stantons,  or  Lincolns,  or  Grants, 
or  Deweys:  the  names  found  there  are  simply  John, 
William,  Richard,  etc.,  as  John  of  Gaunt,  William  of 
Malmsbury,  Richard  the  Lionheart.  All  the  names 
people  had  then  were  simply  Christian  names,  and,  if 
they  needed  to  be  distinguished  further,  the  name  of 
their  place  of  residence,  of  some  characteristic,  or  of 
their  occupation  was  given  to  them.  And  this  re- 
mains true  of  all  royal  personages  now.  They  may 
have  sometimes  a  very  long  list  of  names,  but  they 
are  all  given  or  baptismal  names;  not  one  of  them  is 
known  by  or  possesses  a  surname.  The  noblest 
woman  that  ever  sat  on  a  throne,  that  great  queen  over 
the  sea,  whom  all  true  hearted  Americans  loved  with 
as  admiring  affection  as  her  own  people  gave  her,  was 
not  Mrs.  Saxe-Coburg,  but  simply  Victoria,  Queen 
of  England.  And  who  ever  bore  a  more  fitting  name 
than  she?  Victoria,  the  conquerer  of  the  hearts  of  na- 
tions. Now,  as  is  the  case  with  all  royal  personages  at 
present  so  it  was  formerly  with  people  of  all  classes — 
they  had  none  but  their  given  names.  To  distinguish 
these  from  each  other  another  name  would  be  given 
them  derived  from  some  circumstance  or  peculiarity 
connected  with  their  persons  or  surroundings.  If,  for 
example,  there  were  two  Johns  living  in  the  same 
neighborhood,  the  one  a  miller  and  the  other  a  butcher, 
the  former  would  at  first  be  called  John  the  Miller, 
and  the  other  John  the  Butcher.  In  process  of  time 
the  article  might  be  dropped,  leaving  simply  John 
Miller  and  John  Butcher.  But  it  might  frequently 


194  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

occur  that  there  was  more  than  one  John  the  Miller  in 
the  same  neighborhood,  which  would  necessitate  the 
addition  of  still  another  distinguishing  cognomen  to 
at  least  one  of  them.  This  would  be  found  by  adding 
the  father's  baptismal  name  to  the  given  name,  e.  g., 
John  the  Miller,  the  son  of  Peter,  would  become  John 
Peterson  Miller.  And  such  names  are  still  very  com- 
mon, particularly  in  Scandinavia  and  Holland. 

Now,  our  hero's  name  was  Michael  Adrianson  De 
Ruyter.  The  prefix  De  before  his  name  seems  to  have 
puzzled  an  English  author  considerably,  for  he  says 
that  he  has  not  been  able  to  discover  that  the  great 
hero  was  of  noble  ancestry.  As  if  this  would  be  a 
natural  inference  from  the  prefixing  of  particle  before 
any  name.  This  particle  de  before  a  Dutch  name  is 
nothing  but  the  definite  article,  as  the  equally  common 
van  is  merely  the  preposition,  and  was  put,  the  one  be- 
fore the  name  of  a  quality  or  occupation,  the  other  usu- 
ally before  the  name  of  his  section  of  country  or  more 
immediate  place  of  residence.  Neither  is  any  more 
indication  of  noble  descent  than  the  color  of  one's 
hair  or  eyes. 

Our  hero,  then,  had  been  christened  Michael;  but, 
as  there  were  plenty  of  other  Michaels  in  his  neighbor- 
hood, he  was  distinguished  from  these  others  by  hav- 
ing his  father's  Christian  name  added  to  his  own, 
which  made  him  Michael  Adrianson,  i.  e.,  Michael  the 
son  of  Adrian.  This  accounts  for  two  parts  of  his 
name.  But  he  had  another,  what  is  now  called  a  sur- 
name— De  Ruyter. 

Two  stories  are  told  as  to  the  way  in  which  he 
came  by  this  one.  One  account  says  that  his  father 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON   DE  RUYTER.  19$ 

belonged  to  the  horse-militia,  that  he  was  a  cavalry- 
man. Now,  in  Dutch,  the  word  for  cavalryman  or 
cavalier,  is  ruiter,  old  spelling  ruyter,  for  which  reason 
Michael's  father  was  distinguished  from  other  Adrians 
in  his  town  by  the  cognomen  the  Cavalryman,  or  in 
Dutch,  De  Ruyter. 

The  other  origin  of  this  surname  my  younger  read- 
ers may  perchance  like  better,  though  there  is  no  evi- 
dence that  it  is  any  more  authentic  than  that  just 
given.  But  it  is  more  romantic,  and  that  may  be  a 
sufficient  reason  for  referring  to  it. 

This  story  tells  that  when  Michael's  father  went 
courting  the  maiden  that  he  intended  to  make  his  wife 
the  young  woman's  parents  were  strongly  opposed  to 
the  match.  But  as  Adrian  was  set  on  having  the  girl 
of  his  choice  and  no  other,  and  as  both  were  of  full 
age,  he  proposed  that  they  should  elope.  Though  in 
those  days  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  get  a  daughter  to 
do  contrary  to  her  parents'  wishes,  her  persistent 
suitor  overcame  all  her  scruples  and  secured  her  con- 
sent to  this  irregular  step.  But  when  the  lover  said 
that  he  would  come  for  her  on  the  appointed  day  with 
a  horse  and  that  this  would  carry  them  to  the  parson 
that  should  make  them  man  and  wife,  she  made  so 
many  objections  to  this  mode  of  procedure  because 
she  had  never  ridden  horseback  that  he  almost  gave  up 
his  design.  At  last,  however,  he  overcame  all  her 
opposition,  and  on  the  appointed  day  they  rode  off, 
bestriding  the  same  horse,  and  were  properly  united. 

But  what  has  this  to  do  with  the  name?  A  great 
deal ;  for  some  of  the  young  woman's  friends,  finding 
out  how  she  had  gone  to  her  wedding,  nicknamed  her 


IQ6  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

the  Cavalier,  i.  e.,  De  Ruyter.  and  like  many  a  nick- 
name, before  and  since,  it  stuck,  and  when  little 
Michael  came  into  the  world,  his  parents  thought  they 
could  do  no  better  than  to  give  him  this  name  so  sig- 
nificant of  a  bold  and  active  life.  Little  did  either 
these  jokers,  or  those  who  were  intended  to  suffer 
from  the  joke,  imagine  how  much  of  honor  and  glory 
this  name  would  gather  to  itself. 

De  Ruyter  was  born  on  the  24th  of  the  stormy 
month  of  March,  the  very  year  in  which  the  Arctic 
explorer  and  naval  hero  Heemskerk  died,  falling 
splendidly  victorious  at  Gibraltar.  His  parents 
belonged  to  the  lower  ranks  of  the  laboring  class,  his 
father  being  a  common  porter  in  a  brewery.  As  a  boy 
he  was  a  constant  source  of  anxiety  to  both  father  and 
mother.  The  account  already  given  of  his  hairbrained 
adventure  on  the  Flushing  steeple  has  sufficiently 
shown  that  he  was  a  regular  daredevil.  His  native 
pluck,  too,  often  led  him  into  a  fight  with  other  boys, 
in  which  the  superior  size  of  an  antagonist  never 
seems  to  have  deterred  him  from  a  scrimmage.  From 
time  immemorial  the  boys  of  his  native  town  have  al- 
ways been  divided  into  two  bands,  each  with  its  own 
captain,  which  seldom  could  meet  without  coming  into 
collision.  Of  one  such  band  of  boys  Mike  was  chosen 
captain,  in  which  position  he  is  said  to  have  given 
repeated  intimation  of  what  he  could  be  or  do  when  he 
should  become  a  leader  of  men,  for  it  is  said  that  the 
band  of  boys  led  by  him  always  came  off  victorious  in 
their  many  pitched  battles.  At  school  he  seems  to 
have  been  a  perfect  good-for-nothing,  and  had  to  be 
sent  home  again  and  again,  the  teacher  telling  his 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON    DE   RUYTER.  197 

parents  that  nothing  could  be  done  for  him,  as  he 
neither  could  nor  would  learn  and  only  threw  the  rest 
of  the  school  into  confusion.  Seeing,  therefore,  that 
he  would  not  learn,  his  father  determined  that  he 
should  work.  So  he  sent  him  to  the  rope-walk  of  a 
Mr.  Lampsens,  a  prominent  merchant  and  ship-owner 
of  Flushing.  Here  he  had  to  turn  the  wheel  in  the 
rope-walk  at  a  shilling  a  week.  Imagine  how  the 
harum-scarum  lad  whose  blood  fairly  tingled  with  the 
love  of  adventure  must  have  felt,  shut  up  in  that  rope- 
yard  from  early  morn  till  late  at  night,  turning  that 
everlasting  wheel!  Well,  he  didn't  like  it,  and  again 
and  again  ran  away,  only  to  get  his  jacket  thoroughly 
warmed  when  he  came  home  in  the  evening,  so  that  his 
bones  would  ache  for  a  whole  day.  Many  a  wakeful 
night  did  his  father  and  mother  spend  as  they  anx- 
iously talked  about  their  wayward  young  son.  They 
wondered  what  at  last  would  become  of  him,  and  pic- 
tured to  themselves  all  sorts  of  disgraceful  or  painful 
things  that  might  befall  him.  But  it  was  true  then  as 
now  what  Scott  says  in  Kenilworth,  "Many  a  wild 
colt  has  turned  out  a  noble  steed."  And  God  had  his 
eye  upon  the  boy. 

The  people  of  his  native  town  and  country  were 
then,  and  always  have  been,  among  the  best  and  brav- 
est sailors  that  were  ever  known.  The  city  of  Flush-\ 
ing,  his  birthplace,  lying  at  the  mouth  of  the  Scheldt,  j 
was  the  strongest  port  of  the  province  of  Zeeland,  and 
was  long  called  the  Key  of  the  Netherlands.  The 
province  itself  is  little  more  than  a  group  of  islands  cut 
up  by  the  different  arms  of  the  river  Schledt,  each 
emptying  into  th'e  North  Sea.  And  our  own  Motley  in 


198  NAVAL  HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

his  "Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic,"  says  that  the  Zee- 
landers  were  the  most  desperate  fighting  men  that  ever 
sailed  on  blue  water.     Now,  as  little  Mike,  from  the 
first  days  that  he  was  taken  out  of  doors,  had  seen 
ships  and  smelt  salt  water,  and,  when  even  still  almost 
a  babe,  had  played  among  the  ships  and  climbed  into 
their  rigging,  and  must  have  listened  to  many  a  stirring 
yarn  from  the  weather-stained  and  battle-scarred  tars 
that  crowded  his  native  place,  there  is  no  wonder  that 
an  irresistible  desire  for  a  seafaring  life  should  have 
seized  upon  this  daring  boy.    It  may  well  be,  too,  that 
when  he  was  standing  upon  the  pinnacle  of  the  tall 
steeple  and  looked  out  upon  the  grand  and  far-stretch- 
ing ocean,  and  listened  to  its  multitudinous  voice  call- 
ing him  to  its  tumultuous  bosom,  that  this  desire  was 
fanned  into  a  flame.  And,  indeed,  this  became  the  rul- 
ing passion  of  his  life.     But  at  home  he  found  no 
sympathy  for  his  longing;  his  father  and  mother  said 
no  to  all  his  pleadings  to  let  him  go  to  sea.    One  day, 
however,  he  was  missing.     At  the  late  supper  hour 
that  before  had  never  found  him  absent  or  without  a 
rousing  appetite  to  do  justice  to  it,  he  did  not  make 
his  appearance.     His  father  sent  to  the  rope-walk  to 
seek  him;  but  he  was  not  there,  nor  had  been  seen 
there  all  that    afternoon.      In    terrible    anxiety  they 
hunted  and    searched    for   him  in  the  town  and  the 
country  about,  along  the  quays  and  piers  and  jetties; 
they  inquired  for  him  among  citizens  and  sailors ;  but 
no  one  had  seen    or    heard  anything  of  Mike.     No 
sleep  for  the  father  or  mother  that  night,  as,  returned 
from  their  fruitless  search,  they  spent  the  long  hours 
silently  weeping,  waiting  for  the  morning  which  yet 


MICHAEL   ADRIANSON    DE   RUYTER.  199 

they  dreaded  to  see,  lest  with  its  breaking  their  worst 
fears  should  be  verified  and  they  might  see  their  boy 
brought  home  a  lifeless  corpse.  With  the  morning, 
however,  their  fears,  if  not  their  anxiety,  were  quieted. 
A  letter  was  brought  from  the  captain  of  a  ship  which 
had  sailed  from  Flushing  roads  that  preceding  after- 
noon, in  which  letter  the  captain  stated  that  he  had 
taken  Mike,  at  his  own  earnest  pleading,  with  him  to 
sea.  He  promised  to  take  the  best  care  of  their  son, 
and  with  God's  blessing  return  him  to  them  in  safety. 

The  way  Mike  got  his  desire  to  go  to  sea  gratified 
was  this :  On  the  afternoon  of  that  day  he  had  again 
run  away  from  the  rope-walk  and  had  strolled  down 
to  one  of  the  piers  that  jut  out  from  the  shore  into  the 
sea.  There  he  found  a  boat  lying  fastened  by  a  rope. 
Instantly  the  impulse  seized  him  to  take  possession  of 
this,  row  out  to  one  of  the  many  vessels  lying  in  the 
roadstead,  and  seek  to  get  passage  as  a  cabin  boy.  But 
just  as  he  was  loosening  the  rope,  a  colored  man 
jumped  in  and  gave  him  a  box  on  the  ear,  at  the  same 
time  crying :  "You  little  rascal,  what  do  you  want  with 
that  boat?"  As  the  fellow  was  too  big  for  Mike  to 
fight  he  made  the  best  of  it,  but  begged  the  darky  so 
hard  to  take  him  to  the  ship  to  which  the  negro  seemed 
to  belong,  and  so  get  a  chance  to  become  a  sailor  boy, 
that  the  man  at  last  consented,  but  on  condition  that 
Mike  should  take  the  oars  and  row  them  to  the  ship. 
As  rowing  a  boat,  even  in  the  rough  waves  of  the  road- 
stead, was  nothing  unusual  to  this  lad  of  eleven  years, 
he  gladly  consented.  The  ship  to  which  they  were  go- 
ing was  on  the  point  of  weighing  anchor  and  of  going 
to  sea.  But  Mike  was  by  no  means  certain  yet  of  hav- 


200  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

ing  gained  the  object  of  his  desires,  for  he  had  no 
sooner  jumped  on  deck  than  the  captain  threatened  to 
give  him  the  rope's  end  for  daring  to  run  away  from 
home,  and,  what  was  far  more  terrible  to  Mike,  to 
hail  some  boat  to  carry  him  back.  To  escape  this  and 
at  the  same  time  to  get  out  of  reach  of  the  captain,  he 
ran  swift  as  a  cat  into  the  rigging  and  out  to  the  end 
of  a  yard-arm,  threatening  to  jump  overboard  if  he 
was  not  allowed  to  go  along  to  sea.  At  last  the  old 
sailor  gave  way  and  promised  to  take  him  along, 
whereupon  the  little  fellow  came  down  and  was  entered 
on  the  ship's  roll  as  cabin  boy,  while  the  captain  sent 
the  letter  telling  of  the  boy's  safety.  Thus  began  the 
career  of  one  of  the  greatest  heroes  in  the  annals  of  the 
sea,  as  he  certainly  was  the  greatest  in  all  the  long  list 
of  splendid  seamen  that  his  own  country  had  produced. 

To  follow  De  Ruyter's  career  in  all  its  details  would 
carry  us  far  beyond  the  intended  scope  of  this  part  of 
our  little  work.  Only  a  few  of  the  leading  events  of 
the  fifty-eight  years  of  his  active  sailor  life  can  be 
given. 

When  he  returned  from  his  first  voyage  he  brought 
home  such  a  good  account  of  himself  that  he  was  made 
boatswain's  mate  on  one  of  the  ships  of  his  late 
employer,  Lampsens.  His  friends,  too,  were  already 
convinced  that  the  boy  had  found  the  vocation  for 
which  nature  had  fitted  and  Providence  had  destined 
him.  From  boatswain's  mate  he  rose  rank  by  rank  till, 
when  still  a  very  young  man,  he  obtained  the  command 
of  a  small  merchant  ship.  Thence  he  ascended  by 
rapid  steps  until  he  reached  the  highest  position  open 
to  any  one  in  the  navy  of  the  Dutch  Republic. 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON   DE   RUYTER.  2OI 

As  commander  of  merchantmen  he  again  and  again 
displayed  that  marvelous  seamanship,  heroism  and 
stragetic  skill  that  ultimately  made  him  the  recog- 
nized and  admired  chief  of  naval  heroes. 

On  one  occasion,  when  he  was  still  almost  a  beard- 
less boy,  he  was  returning  from  Ireland  in  charge  of  a 
small  vessel  laden  with  butter.  When  he  had  passed 
the  Lizard  and  was  running  down  the  Channel  he  was 
espied  by  a  Dunkirk  pirate,  who  at  once  gave  chase. 
Seeing  that  he  had  not  force  enough  to  fight  the  sea- 
robber  (his  crew  numbered  only  seven  men  and 
boys),  and  that  escape  was  impossible,  he  made  use  of 
an  ingenious  trick  to  outwit  his  rapacious  pursuer. 
He  ordered  a  lot  of  firkins  of  butter  to  be  brought  up 
with  the  contents  of  which  he  had  his  men  grease  the 
deck  and  bulwarks  of  his  little  vessel.  Next  he  had 
the  hatches  opened,  at  each  of  which  he  stationed  a 
sailor  with  drawn  cutlass,  while  the  remaining  few  of 
his  crew  were  placed  down  in  the  hold.  When  all  was 
ready  De  Ruyter  shortened  sail  and  awaited  the  com- 
ing of  the  pirate,  as  if  ready  to  surrender.  As  soon 
as  the  Dunkirker  came  up  he  laid  his  ship  alongside  of 
De  Ruyter's.  No  sooner  were  the  grappling  hooks 
fast  than  the  murderous  crew  jumped  on  board  armed 
to  the  teeth.  But  never  did  Jack  Frost  make  a  more 
treacherous  footing  than  had  been  prepared  for  these 
buccaneers.  Every  one  of  them  that  touched  the  bul- 
warks or  decks  instantly  tumbled  head  over  heels, 
their  weapons  flying  out  of  their  hands,  while  they 
themselves  were  either  hurled  or  fell  down  the  hatch- 
ways, where  they  were  instantly  secured  and  bound. 
One  fellow,  as  he  fell,  shot  clear  across  the  slippery 


202  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

deck  through  one  of  the  port-holes  into  the  sea.  The 
pirate  captain  was  glad  enough  to  get  away  with  what 
few  remained  of  his  crew  and  let  the  slippery  Dutch- 
man slip  away. 

Some  time  ago  the  writer  saw  this  exploit  credited 
in  a  reputable  weekly  paper  to  an  Irishman,  a  mistake 
due,  perhaps,  to  the  fact  that  it  happened  to  a  vessel 
coming  from  Ireland.  The  honor  of  the  witty  and  suc- 
cessful ruse,  however,  belongs  to  De  Ruyter,  and  to  no 
one  else. 

Once  again,  when  commanding  a  fair-sized  mer- 
chantman, but  which  was  neither  well  armed  nor 
manned,  his  entire  crew  counting  only  seventeen 
hands  all  told,  he  spied  a  pirate  with  a  large  prize  in 
tow.  Instantly  De  Ruyter  determined  to  do  a  little 
privateering  on  his  own  hook,  and  gave  chase.  Setting 
all  sail  and  firing  a  couple  of  rounds  from  his  few  guns 
he  made  the  pirate  believe  that  a  man-of-war  was  after 
him.  Not  daring  to  risk  a  battle  with  a  Dutch  warship, 
the  pirate,  though  carrying  more  than  twenty  guns 
with  a  crew  of  120  men,  cut  the  hawsers  and  took  to 
his  heels,  leaving  his  fine  prize  to  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  tricky  captain,  who  brought  it  safely  into  Flush- 
ing harbor. 

There  were  two  other  occasions  during  his  career 
as  a  merchant  captain  in  which  he  gained  by  his  wits 
what  was  impossible  to  secure  by  bravery  or  seaman- 
ship. On  one  of  these  he  was  one  night  sailing  in  com- 
pany with  a  number  of  other  merchant  vessels  home- 
ward bound.  Suddenly  they  found  themselves  almost 
in  the  midst  of  a  fleet  of  French  privateers.  His  com- 
panions at  once  extinguished  all  their  lights,  hoping 


MICHAEL   ADRIANSON   DE   RUYTER.  203 

thus  to  escape  observation.  But  De  Ruyter  knew  a 
trick  worth  two  of  that.  His  being  a  good-sized  vessel 
he  hung  out  all  the  lights  usually  carried  by  a  man-of-  \ 
war,  which  led  the  Frenchmen  to  believe  that  he  was 
what  he  pretended  to  be.  And  as  at  that  time  scarcely 
any  number  of  French  privateers  would  have  dared 
to  tackle  a  Dutch  warship,  they  steered  clear  of  him; 
but  fell  upon  the  others,  many  of  which  became  an  easy 
prey.  On  the  other  occasion  his  vessel  was  chased  by 
another  fleet  of  French  privateers  commanded  by  a 
renowned  freebooter  of  that  time  called  Lalande,  who 
boarded  him.  As  he  had  no  butter  now  with  which  to 
foil  his  adversary  and  not  sufficient  force  to  fight,  De 
Ruyter,  for  the  first  and  only  time  in  his  life,  was 
compelled  to  surrender.  When  brought  on  board  of 
his  captor  Lalande  took  him  into  his  cabin  and  asked 
if  he  were  thirsty.  Being  answered  in  the  affirmative, 
the  Frenchman  again  asked  what  he  would  take,  water 
or  wine.  Rather  a  singular  question  for  a  Frenchman 
to  put  and  that  to  a  seaman  of  that  day.  But  the  Hol- 
lander answered:  "Why  do  you  ask  such  a  question 
of  a  captive?  If  I  am  a  prisoner,  give  me  water,  but 
if  I  am  a  free  man,  give  me  wine."  The  generous 
Frenchman,  struck  with  the  boldness  of  the  reply,  at 
once  poured  out  two  glasses  of  wine,  one  for  De  Ruy- 
ter and  one  for  himself,  then  taking  up  his  own  glass 
he  drank  to  the  health  of  his  captive,  wished  him  "bon 
voyage"  and  gave  him  back  his  ship.  Several  years 
after  this  episode  these  two  met  again,  when  De  Ruy- 
ter was  in  command  of  a  squadron  of  men-of-war. 
And,  although  the  incident  connected  with  this  meet- 
ing does  not  belong  to  this  period  of  our  hero's  life, 


NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

yet,  as  it  has  reference  to  this  same  Frenchman,  it 
may  as  well  be  related  here.  Lalande  was  again  in 
command  of  a  fleet  of  privateers  and,  having  been 
chased  and  defeated  by  De  Ruyter,  was  brought  on 
board  of  the  latter's  flagship.  As  they  recognized 
each  other  their  surprise  was  mutual.  The  Frenchman 
at  once  recalled  the  incident  of  their  former  meeting 
and  demanded  the  same  generous  treatment  now  that 
he  had  accorded  to  De  Ruyter  on  that  former  occasion. 
To  this  the  Hollander  replied  that,  though  he  would  do 
all  in  his  power  to  render  Lalande's  captivity  as  toler- 
able as  possible,  he  had  neither  the  right  nor  the 
authority  to  release  him.  The  cases  were  not  equal; 
for  at  the  time  referred  to  Lalande  was  acting  on  his 
own  responsibility,  subject  to  no  authority,  being  a 
privateer;  but  he,  De  Ruyter,  was  subject  to  the 
authority  of  his  government,  which  did  not  leave  him 
at  liberty  to  release  any  one  taken  prisoner  in  battle. 
Whatever  his  own  inclinations  might  be,  therefore,  to 
listen  to  the  voice  of  gratitude  and  to  let  him  go,  duty 
compelled  him  to  carry  Lalande  captive  to  Holland. 

The  great  seamanship,  courage,  and  fidelity  which 
De  Ruyter  had  ever  displayed  as  master  of  merchant 
vessels  had  given  abundant  proof  to  his  friends  that 
he  was  capable  and  worthy  of  filling  a  more  responsi- 
ble position,  and  one  in  which  he  could  be  of  more 
extensive  service  to  his  fatherland.  At  that  time  there 
were  no  naval  schools  established  anywhere,  so  that 
the  captains  and  commanders  of  the  different  navies 
were  generally  selected  from  among  those  who  had 
become  noted  for  daring  and  ability  as  commanders 
of  private  vessels.  When,  therefore,  in  1641,  King 


MICHAEL   ADRIANSON    DE   RUYTER.  205 

John  IV.  of  Portugal,  which  had  revolted  from  Spain, 
sought  the  aid  of  Holland  against  Spain,  De  Ruyter's 
former  employer  at  the  rope-yard,  Lampsens,  who  was 
a  member  of  the  Dutch  Legislature,  recommended  him 
for  the  post  of  commodore  to  command  the  fleet  to  be 
sent  out  to  assist  the  Portuguese.  In  a  battle  with  the 
Spanish  fleet  on  this  trip  he  won  a  complete  victory 
and  covered  himself  with  glory.  For  this  he  received} 
from  the  King  of  Portugal  a  golden  chain  worth  $25OJ 
To  this  was  attached  a  fine  medal,  also  of  gold,  bear- 
ing the  King's  image,  with  the  inscription  on  one  side, 
"Joannes  IV.  Dei  Gratia  Rex  Portugalliae,"  John  IV. 
by  the  grace  of  God  King  of  Portugal,  and  on  the  re- 
verse, "Vici  mea  fata  superstes,"  Surviving,  I  have 
overcome  my  misfortunes. 

On  his  return  from  this  expedition  he  resigned  his 
post  as  commodore  and  once  more  entered  the  service 
of  his  former  employer,  Lampsens,  and  brought  him 
great  gain  in  several  very  successful  trips.  On  one  of 
these  he  proved  again  that,  even  with  a  merchant  ship, 
he  was  capable  of  performing  great  acts  of  valor.  Fall- 
ing in  once  in  the  Caribbean  Sea  with  a  very  large 
Spanish  man-of-war,  he  sought  to  get  away  from  it, 
but  only  to  be  the  more  eagerly  chased.  When  he 
perceived  that  he  could  not  outsail  the  Spaniard  he 
determined  to  give  him  battle.  So  he  let  his  pursuer 
come  close  up  to  him,  when  he  suddenly  poured  in  his 
shot  in  such  quick  succession  that  very  soon  the 
mighty  ship  went  to  the  bottom.  As  her  hapless  men 
were  struggling  in  the  waves,  De  Ruyter,  as  humane 
and  magnanimous  as  brave,  manned  his  boats  and 
rescued  all  that  could  be  reached.  When  these  had 
been  brought  on  board  together  with  their  captain,  De 


206  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

Ruyter  asked  him  what  he  would  have  done  if  the 
tables  had  been  turned  and  the  Hollanders  had  been  in 
the  condition  from  which  he  and  his  men  had  just  been 
delivered.  The  proud  Spaniard  haughtily  replied  that 
he  would  have  let  every  one  perish  in  the  deep  that 
had  not  been  slain  on  board.  This  made  the  Dutchman 
mad  and  he  at  once  commanded  every  Spaniard  to 
be  bound  hand  and  foot  and  to  be  hurled  into  the  sea, 
ordering  heavy  weights  to  be  fastened  to  their  feet  so 
that  they  might  instantly  sink.  When  now  according 
to  orders  they  were  going  to  begin  with  the  captain, 
his  haughty  Spanish  bravado  left  him  and,  falling  on 
his  knees,  he  begged  most  piteously  for  mercy.  As 
De  Ruyter  had  only  intended  to  teach  the  proud  Don 
a  lesson  in  humanity  toward  the  vanquished,  he  readily 
granted  his  prayer,  merely  removed  his  prisoners  to 
the  hold  and  carried  them  off  to  Holland. 

One  more  notable  instance  of  his  courage  and  dar- 
ing as  a  merchant  captain  must  be  told  before  passing 
on  to  the  most  notable  exploits  in  his  career  as  com- 
mander in  the  regular  navy  of  his  fatherland.  While 
sailing  once  along  the  coasts  of  northern  Africa  he 
perceived  five  Barbary  pirates  lying  in  wait  for  him. 
His  present  vessel  was  a  remarkably  swift  sailer  and 
fairly  well  armed,  but  by  no  means  a  match  for  the 
fierce  rovers  of  the  sea  that  were  ready  to  pounce  upon 
him.  But,  instead  of  making  use  of  the  swiftness  of 
his  ship  to  seek  to  escape,  he  set  all  sail  and  dashed  at 
the  leader  of  the  pirates  and  so  savagely  assailed  him 
that  he  was  soon  compelled  to  seek  safety  in  flight. 
With  this  one  driven  off  De  Ruyter  made  for  the  next 
nearest  at  hand,  who  proved  to  be  second  in  command 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON   DE  RUYTER.  207 

of  the  Barbary  squadron,  and  sent  him  to  follow  his 
chief.  It  was  not  long,  either,  before  all  the  rest  set 
every  sail  and  bent  their  long  oars  to  get  away  from 
the  tremendous  fire  of  the  swift  Dutchman.  The 
astonished  Moors,  who  had  witnessed  this  fight  from 
the  shore,  invited  him  to  enter  their  port,  and  when 
he  landed  led  him  on  horseback  as  a  conquerer  through 
the  streets  of  their  city. 

By  this  time  the  boy,  of  whom  every  one  had  de- 
spaired when  he  was  at  home,  had  become  not  only  a 
quite  respectable  burgher  of  his  native  town,  but  a  very 
noted  citizen  of  the  country.  In  his  many  voyages  he 
had  accumulated  what  seemed  to  him  quite  a  fortune, 
upon  which  he  determined  to  retire  and  spend  the  rest 
of  his  life  on  shore.  He  had  established  his  aged  pa- 
rents in  a  snug  little  cottage  outside  of  the  town  and 
purchased  for  himself  a  modest,  but  comfortable  resi- 
dence. Here  he  intended  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his 
days  in  the  quiet  delights  sx>  dear  to  every  Hollander, 
the  pleasures  connected  with  the  cultivation  of  a  gar- 
den. But,  "man  proposes,  but  God  disposes."  God 
and  his  country  had  other  work  for  him  to  do.  Talents 
and  powers  such  as  his  could  not  be  devoted  to  the 
handling  of  the  spade  and  pruning  knife.  His  father- 
land had  need  of  him  and  was  yet  to  find  in  him  its 
noblest  and  most  successful  champion  at  sea. 

As  already  related  in  the  story  of  Tromp,  England 
had  attacked  the  Dutch  Republic  largely  because  it 
had  dared  to  protest  against  the  beheading  of  Charles 
I. ...  Without  the  least  warning  or  any  declaration  of 
war  Cromwell's  ships  seized  .upon,  all  Dutch  vessels 
wherever  they  could  find  and  master  them.  As  the 


208  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

English  'had  more  than  one  fleet  at  sea,  the  Dutch  also 
fitted  out  another  in  addition  to  the  one  under  the  great 
Tromp.  The  command  of  this  second  fleet  was  offered 
to  De  Ruyter.  At  first  he  modestly  refused  the  offer, 
on  the  ground  that  there  were  several  older  and  more 
experienced  commanders  already  in  the  navy  and  who, 
he  thought,  were  more  deserving  of  the  honor.  The 
government,  however,  knew  their  man  and  insisted  on 
his  acceptance,  so  that  both  this  and  his  patriotism 
forced  him  to  yield.  With  this  fleet,  numbering  thirty 
men-of-war  and  six  fireships,  he  met  that  of  the  Eng- 
lish under  Admiral  George  Ascue,  sometimes  written 
Ayscue.  This,  as  usual,  not  only  was  superior  as  to  the 
size  and  armament  of  its  ships,  but  also  outnumbered 
that  of  De  Ruyter  by  ten  vessels.  Moreover,  he  was 
hampered  by  a  large  merchant  fleet  which  he  was  con- 
voying, and  which  the  English  had  hoped  to  capture. 
Notwithstanding  this  and  his  inferiority  in  strength 
and  number  of  vessels,  De  Ruyter  hesitated  not  a  mo- 
ment to  give  battle.  And,  as  has  already  been  seen 
more  than  once,  when  Dutch  and  English  sailors  took 
hold  of  each  other  in  those  days  they  made  bloody 
work  of  it. 

It  was  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  August  26, 
1652,  when  the  battle  began.  Twice  De  Ruyter  broke 
with  his  own  squadron  through  the  English  fleet,  a 
manoeuvre  said  to  have  been  first  attempted  in  naval 
battles  by  the  Dutch  admirals.  At  one  time  his  flagship 
lay  close  between  those  of  Ascue  and  the  English  vice- 
admiral,  receiving  the  terrible  fire  of  both  ;  but  his  own 
fire  was  still  more  destructive  and  at  last  compelled 
Ascue  and  his  companion  to  draw  off.  The  combat 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON   DE   RUYTER.  209 

lasted  till  night,  when  Ascue  found  it  best  to  seek  the 
harbor  of  Plymouth,  near  which  the  fight  had  taken 
place,  and  De  Ruyter  was  left  free  to  take  the  merchant 
fleet  which  was  under  his  protection  unharmed  to  their 
destination. 

In  this  battle  one  of  those  acts  of  heroism  was  per- 
formed which  lend  such  lustre  to  the  history  of  the 
young  Republic.  One  of  the  merchant  ships,  the  Os- 
trich, being  well  manned  and  armed,  had  been  ranged 
with  the  fleet  in  the  line  of  battle.  Its  commander  was 
a  Frisian,  and  his  name,  singularly  enough,  was  com- 
posed nearly  of  the  same  letters  as  that  of  the  English 
admiral.  The  latter's  name  was  Ascue  and  that  of  the 
Frisian  Aukes,  Douwe  Aukes.  He,  having  penetrated 
too  far  within  the  enemy's  lines,  was  exposed  to  such 
a  destructive  fire  that  his  sailors  tried  to  compel  him  to 
surrender.  In  reply,  Aukes  seized  a  match  and  rushed 
to  the  powder  magazine,  shouting,  "Courage,  my  boys, 
courage !  I  will  set  you  the  example,  and  when  we  have 
to  give  in,  even  then  I  will  show  you  the  way  to  vic- 
tory and  liberty.  And  I  swear,  if  another  word  is  said 
about  surrender,  I  will  blow  up  the  ship!"  Thus 
aroused,  his  men  went  to  the  guns  again  and  soon 
utterly  disabled  two  of  their  antagonists,  while  a  third 
spread  all  sail  and  fled. 

This  was  the  first  great  naval  battle  in  which  De 
Ruyter  had  command  of  a  fleet,  and  the  great  skill  and 
courage  he  displayed  in  this  at  once  gave  him  rank 
among  the  many  great  admirals  of  that  day. 

Those  were  the  times  when  a  naval  fight  was  not  de- 
cided in  a  few  hours,  particularly  when  it  was  one  in 
which  the  two  greatest  naval  powers  of  that  day  were 


210  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

pitted  against  each  other ;  but  when  the  mad  and  furi- 
ous fray  would  not  seldom  be  protracted  from  day  to 
day,  even  the  night  scarce  bringing  respite  to  the  com- 
batants. Of  such  several  were  fought  by  De  Ruyter, 
either  as  subordinate  commander  or  under  his  own 
supreme  direction.  Of  his  share  in  the  terrible  three- 
days'  fight  in  February,  1653,  between  Tromp  and 
Blake  sufficient  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  chapter. 
There  was  one  somewhat  singular  circumstance  con- 
nected with  this  battle,  however,  that  may  be  related 
here.  The  night  before  the  first  day's  battle,  De  Ruyter 
had  dreamed  that  a  bird  alighted  on  his  hand;  but 
which  took  flight  every  time  that  he  tried  to  seize  it. 
When  now,  on  the  28th  of  February,  the  English  fleet 
hove  in  sight,  he  exclaimed  to  one  of  his  officers  to 
whom  he  had  told  the  dream,  "There  is  the  bird  of 
which  I  dreamed  last  night !"  And  as  we  have  seen,  that 
bird  took  wing  at  the  end  of  those  terrible  three  days. 

Nothing  further  need  to  be  said  here,  either,  of  De 
Ruyter's  share  in  that  other  terrific  action  off  the  coast 
of  Holland  between  Monk  and  Tromp,  in  which  the 
latter  fought  his  last  battle.  While  the  death  of  Tromp 
was  a  great  loss  to  the  Republic,  it  was  largely  com- 
pensated for,  and  finally  more  than  made  good  by,  the 
constantly  expanding  genius  of  De  Ruyter,  In  conse- 
quence of  the  removal  of  the  great  admiral  by  the  fate 
of  war  De  Ruyter  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  vice- 
admiral.  In  this  capacity  he  performed  many  heroic 
deeds  against  the  Barbary  pirates.  On  one  of  his  voy- 
ages during  this  period  he  took  a  large  number  of 
Turkish  ships,  and  subsequently  concluded  a  peace 
with  the  Bey  of  Morocco,  which  was  of  very  great  ad- 


MICHAEL   ADRIANSON   DE   RUYTER.  211 

vantage  to  the  Dutch.  On  his  way  homeward,  convoy- 
ing a  richly  laden  fleet  of  merchantmen,  when  nearly 
opposite  Dover  he  observed  a  fleet  of  English  men-of- 
war  apparently  awaiting  him.  As  he  approached  he 
received  a  message  from  the  British  commander,  Wil- 
liam Withorn,  to  say  that  he  had  orders  to  seize  all 
vessels  coming  from  Spain  and  to  bring  them  into  the 
Downs.  England  was  at  this  time  at  war  with  Spain, 
but  at  peace  with  Holland.  Withorn  claimed  in  his 
letter  containing  the  above  message  that  some  of  the 
vessels  under  De  Ruyter's  convoy  contained  goods 
brought  from  Spain,  and  that  therefore  he  would  have 
to  deal  with  them  according  to  his  instructions.  He 
added  also  that,  if  they  were  not  given  up  peacefully, 
he  would  have  to  take  them  by  force,  and  threw  the 
responsibility  of  the  breach  of  the  peace  and  the  prob- 
able bloodshed  entirely  upon  De  Ruyter.  Imagine  how 
such  a  message  must  have  been  received  by  one  of  the 
greatest  naval  heroes  of  the  time  and  coming  from  a 
man  of  whom  no  one  had  scarcely  ever  heard,  and 
whose  name,  but  for  this  anecdote,  would  certainly  find 
no  place  here.  The  answer  was  short  and  to  the  point. 
It  informed  the  impudent  British  commander  that  the 
merchant  fleet  was  under  De  Ruyter's  protection  and 
had  no  business  in  the  Downs,  but  belonged  in  Am- 
sterdam, whither  he  would  convoy  them,  and  that  who- 
ever dared  to  molest  them  would  do  so  at  his  peril. 
Finding  that  he  had  reckoned  without  his  host,  and 
having  no  desire  to  measure  strength  with  De  Ruyter, 
no  attempt  was  made  by  Withorn  to  carry  out  his  pre- 
tended order. 

In  1659  Denmark  invoked  the  aid  of  the  Dutch  Re- 


212  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

public  against  Charles  Gustavus  of  Sweden,  who,  in 
alliance  with  Augustus  of  Poland,  had  declared  war 
against  the  Danish  King,  Christian  II.  The  allied 
armies  had  been  everywhere  victorious  on  land  over 
the  Danes,  while  at  sea  the  Swedes  had  almost  anni- 
hilated the  Danish  fleet.  The  appeal  of  King  Christian 
found  a  ready  ear  at  the  seat  of  the  Dutch  government, 
and  a  well-equipped  fleet  was  sent  to  the  Sound  under 
the  Lieutenant  Admiral  Wassenaar,  with  De  Ruyter 
second  in  command.  Not  long  after  the  fleet  had 
arrived  in  the  Sound  the  commander-in-chief  was  taken 
so  seriously  ill  that  he  had  to  be  ordered  home.  This 
left  the  chief  command  in  the  hands  of  De  Ruyter,  who 
now,  therefore,  occupied  a  position  not  only  of  very 
great  responsibility,  but  of  equally  great  honor.  And 
though  this  was  at  present  only  temporary,  it  gave  him 
the  opportunity  of  displaying  so  much  of  skill  and 
ability,  both  as  a  naval  and  military  commander,  as  at 
once  to  bring  conviction  to  all  that  in  De  Ruyter  were 
to  be  found  all  the  virtues  of  a  great  chief.  For  right 
nobly  and  successfully  did  he  serve  the  Danish  King 
against  the  ambitious  Gustavus.  On  November  pth, 
1659,  De  Ruyter  ranged  his  fleet  in  position  for  the 
bombardment  of  Nyborg,  This  was  a  strongly  forti- 
fied city  on  the  island  of  Funen  and  had  been  compelled 
to  surrender  to  the  Swedes,  who  had  in  and  about  the 
city  an  array  of  more  than  10,000  men.  De  Ruyter's 
first  object  was  to  drive  all  the  Swedish  troops  within 
the  walls  of  the  city,  which  was  accomplished  in  a  com- 
paratively short  time  with  the  aid  of  the  Danes.  When 
this  had  been  done  he  began  the  bombardment  with  the 
guns  of  his  fleet,  which  was  of  a  nature  so  terrific  that 


MICHAEL   ADRIANSON    DE   RUYTER.  213 

the  cannon  became  red-hot  with  the  rapid  firing.  The 
city  being  crowded  with  soldiers  cs  v/ell  as  citizens, 
among  whom  the  death-dealing  missile;;  were  almost 
ceaselessly  hurled,  the  horror  and  havoc  created  was 
fearful.  The  guns  of  the  city  forts  and  batteries  were 
almost  useless,  as  the  defenders  were  constantly  driven 
from  them  by  the  rapid  fire  from  the  fleet.  The  Swedes 
were  compelled  to  surrender  unconditionally.  Ten 
thousand  men  were  taken  prisoners,  Nyborg  and  the 
Island  of  Funen  were  recaptured,  Denmark  was  deliv- 
ered, and  Sweden  completely  thwarted.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  defeat  Charles  Gustavus  is  said  to  have 
died  of  chagrin  in  February  of  the  next  year,  1660. 

This  remarkable  success  on  the  part  of  the  Holland- 
ers seems  to  have  once  more  stirred  up  the  envy  and 
jealousy  of  England,  and  was  made  one  of  the  pre- 
texts for  another  declaration  of  war  by  her  against 
the  Dutch  Republic.  The.  common  wealth  created  by 
Cromwell  had,  ceased  to. exist,  and  the  son  of  the  be- 
headed king  had  been  placed  .upon  the  reestablished 
throne  of  England.  Charles  II.  had  much  reason  for 
gratitude  to  Holland,  because  she  had  dared  to  harbor 
him  during  his  exile  from  his  own  country,  for  which 
reason,  too,  she  had  been  compelled  to  wage  a  costly 
and  bloody  war.  But  Charles  entirely  forgot  his  debt  i- 
of  gratitude  and  but  too  readily  allowed  himself  to  be 
driven  by  the  popular  frenzy  to  declare  war  against 
his  late  hosts  and  protectors.  Before  any  declaration 
of  war  had  been  made,  however,  the  English  had  be- 
gan hostilities  by  seizing  the  Dutch  possessions  on  the 
coast  of  Guinea,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  my  young 
readers  to  give  some  particulars  of  the  high-handed 


214  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

action  of  the  English  in  this  instance,  especially  be- 
cause part  of  it  also  touches  our  own  history.  The 
Duke  of  York  was  at  the  head  of  the  so-called  Royal 
African  Company,  and  as  such  had  sent  out  Admiral 
Robert  Holmes  with  a  fleet  of  twenty-two  men-of-war 
to  attack  the  Dutch  possessions  in  Africa,  the  West 
Indies,  and  North  America.  This  was  in  1663,  and, 
as  indicated  above,  while  England  and  Holland  were 
at  peace,  Holmes  started  for  the  west  coast  of  Africa, 
fully  intending  to  carry  out  his  instructions  to  the 
letter.  His  first  object  of  attack  was  Bona vista,  one 
of  the  Cape  Verde  Islands  belonging  to  the  Dutch  at 
that  time.  Thence  he  went  along  the  coast  of  Africa 
and  seized  every  one  of  the  Dutch  possessions  that  he 
could  master,  capturing  also  a  number  of  ships  with 
their  rich  cargoes.  This  done,  he  crossed  the  Atlantic 
and  attacked  New  Amsterdam.  This  was  forced  to 
surrender  on  the  I7th  of  August,  1663,  with  which  also 
the  whole  of  the  New  Netherlands  came  under  the 
sway  of  England.  He  completed  his  robber  trip  with 
the  seizure  of  a  couple  of  islands  in  the  Dutch  West 
Indies,  and  then  returned  home  to  receive  the  plaudits 
of  his  treacherous  king.  When  Charles  II.  was 
approached  by  the  Dutch  ambassador  with  the  com- 
plaints of  the  Republic  in  regard  to  this  high-handed 
outrage,  he  pretended  ignorance  of  the  matter  and 
said  that  the  affair  should  be  laid  to  the  charge  of  the 
Royal  Africa  Company. 

Seeing  that  no  redress  could  be  obtained  from  Eng- 
land but  by  the  force  of  arms,  the  Dutch  government 
set  about  to  strengthen  its  fleet  so  as  to  be  ready  for 
the  emergency  as  soon  as  Charles  should  declare  war, 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON   DE   RUYTER. 

as  now  seemed  inevitable.  But  that  nothing  might  be 
done  openly  to  bring  about  hostilities,  orders  were  se- 
cretly sent  to  De  Ruyter  to  proceed  to  the  West  Indies 
and  to  Africa,  to  avenge  the  wrong  and  repair  the  dam- 
age done  by  Holmes.  De  Ruyter's  fleet  was  at  this 
time  in  the  Mediterranean  to  protect  the  commerce  of 
Holland  against  Algerine  pirates.  It  consisted  of 
twelve  men-of-war  and  a  supply  ship,  and  left  the  har- 
bor of  Cadiz  on  the  5th  of  October.  On  the  22d  the 
island  of  Bonavista  was  reached.  Here  a  fleet  of  eight 
English  merchantmen  and  one  man-of-war  were  lying 
under  the  guns  of  the  lower  fort,  while  from  both  this 
and  the  upper  fort  the  flag  of  the  English  African 
Company  seemed  to  be  waving  defiance  at  the  Hol- 
landers. The  Dutch  fleet  was  ranged  in  the  form  of  a 
semi-circle,  and  in  this  order  approached  the  English 
and  effectually  prevented  their  escape.  Thereupon 
the  English  despatched  two  messengers  to  De  Ruyter, 
asking  why  he  had  taken  position  with  such  an  arma- 
ment in  the  neighborhood  of  their  ships  and  forts.  To 
this  he  replied  that  they  could  easily  guess  the  reason, 
and  further  added  that  as  soon  as  the  wind  rose  he 
would  approach  still  nearer.  Then  they  asked,  with 
counterfeited  amazement,  whether  he  did  not  know 
that  Holland  and  England  were  at  peace.  "Yes,"  De 
Ruyter  answered,  "Holland  is  at  peace  with  England, 
but  not  with  a  people  that  in  such  robber-like  fashion 
has  seized  upon  the  ships  and  strongholds  of  the 
Dutch  West  India  Company."  As  the  Hollanders 
were  now  the  stronger  party,  nothing  remained  but  to 
surrender  both  forts  and  ships,  and  to  put  the  island 
once  more  into  the  possession  of  the  former  owners, 


2l6  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

This  matter  being  settled  satisfactorily,  and  the  forts 
being  once  more  manned  with  Dutch  troops,  with  the 
Orange  flag  waving  over  them,  De  Ruyter  steered  for 
the  other  possessions  on  the  African  coast  as  far  as 
Sierra  Leone.  Here  one  stronghold  after  another  was 
recovered,  and  even  one  of  the  most  important  forti- 
fied positions  of  the  English  was  captured  after  a 
severe  and  hazardous  battle.  This  was  the  fort  of  Cor- 
mantyn  or  Cormanlin  on  the  Gold  Coast,  some  distance 
below  Cape  Coast  Castle.  Among  those  who  assisted 
the  English  in  the  defense  of  this  stronghold  was  a 
negro  chief  called  John  Kabesse,  who  had  gained  for 
himself  a  great  name  for  daring  and  military  skill,  not 
only  among  his  African  dependents  and  allies,  but 
among  the  Europeans.  He  had,  however,  shown  him- 
self also  equally  cruel,  especially  in  his  treatment  of 
Dutch  captives,  whom  he  would  first  torture  and  maim 
most  brutally  before  dispatching  them.  Dreading  the 
vengeance  of  the  Dutch  if  he  should  fall  into  their 
hands,  he  exposed  himself  and  his  men  to  the  fiercest 
fire  of  the  besiegers,  in  order  by  a  soldier's  death  to 
escape  his  well-deserved  punishment.  But,  failing  in 
this,  with  his  own  hand  he  slew  his  son  and  two  slaves 
who  were  by  his  side,  and  then,  cutting  his  own 
throat,  he  threw  himself  from  the  wall  down  among 
the  besiegers. 

The  capture  of  this  fortification  completed  the  ob- 
ject of  the  expedition.  But  before  the  fleet  was  turned 
homeward  De  Ruyter  ordered  the  assembling  of  the 
crews  for  religious  service  to  give  thanks  to  Almighty 
God,  who  not  only  had  vouchsafed  to  them  this  victory, 


MICHAEL   ADRIANSON    DE   RUYTER.  9l"J 

but  who  had  prospered  them  in  every  step  of  the  un- 
dertaking for  which  the  fleet  had  set  out. 

On  this  voyage  a  pleasant  episode  occurred  that  is 
also  worth  relating,  namely,  the  meeting  again  of  De 
Ruyter  and  the  negro  who  had  caught  him  when,  as 
will  be  remembered,  little  Michael  was  trying  to  steal 
a  boat  with  which  to  row  to  some  sea-going  ship.  This 
darky  and  young  Mike  had  struck  up  a  very  strong 
friendship  for  each  other  on  that  first  voyage  of  the 
future  naval  hero.    Now,  as  De  Ruyter's  fleet  on  this 
present  voyage  was  somewhere  on  the  coast  of  Africa, 
one  of  his  officers  was  sent  ashore  with  a  number  of 
men  to  fetch  fresh  water.    Here  they  were  met  by  the 
dusky  king  of  that  country  who,  to  their  astonishment, 
spoke  Dutch  and  in  this  their  native  tongue  asked  the 
name  of  the  commander  of  the  fleet.    When  told  that  it 
was  Michael  De  Ruyter,  he  exclaimed,  "Michael  De 
Ruyter,  Michael  De  Ruyter !  More  than  forty  years  ago 
I  knew  a  ship's  boy  by  that  name !"    When  the  officer 
assured  him  that  beyond  a  doubt  it  was  the  same  per- 
son, the  black  king  refused  to  believe  that  his  old  com- 
rade, the  poor  ship's  boy,  could  have  risen  to  such  a 
position.    When  the  assertion  was  repeated,  however, 
that  the  present  admiral  was  no  other  than  that  same 
unpromising  person  of  so  long  ago,  the  negro,  who 
was  called  John  Company,  earnestly  begged  to  be  taken 
on  board  of  the  flagship.    His  request  being  granted, 
the  old  comrades  recognized  each  other  at  once,  and 
were  not  a  little  surprised  at  such  a  singular  and  un- 
expected meeting.    There  was  much  that  each  had  to 
tell,  the  one  of  the  many  perilous  steps  by  which  he 
had  risen  to  the  command  of  a  fleet  of  the  then  mighti- 


Sl8  NAVAL  HEROES  OF  HOLLAND. 

est  maritime  power  in  the  world ;  the  other  of  his  many 
wanderings  as  a  common  sailor  till  at  last  he  had 
stopped  ashore  there  and,  on  account  of  the  knowl- 
edge and  skill  acquired  among  Europeans,  had  at  last 
come  to  be  chosen  as  king  of  a  tribe  of  negroes.  The 
African  chief  proved  to  have  quite  a  retentive  memory ; 
he  could  still  mention  the  names  of  all  the  streets, 
quays  and  bridges  of  Flushing,  and  related  exactly 
every  circumstance  connected  with  his  early  acquaint- 
ance with  De  Ruyter  on  the  latter's  first  voyage.  He 
also  could  repeat  the  Creed  and  the  Ten  Command- 
ments. But  this  was  all  he  had  retained  of  Christian 
knowledge,  as  perhaps  it  was  all  that  had  ever  been 
taught  him.  When  asked  if  he  would  not  like  to  go 
back  to  Flushing,  he  replied  that  he  would  much  pre- 
fer to  live  and  die  in  his  own  country  and  among  his 
own  people,  however  much  they  might  be  below  the 
Europeans  in  civilization.  And  who  would  not  ad- 
mire such  patriotism  even  in  such  an  insignificant 
negro  king?  After  presenting  him  with  many  a  gift 
of  special  value  in  those  regions  and  helpful  in  the 
civilization  of  the  tribe,  De  Ruyter  sent  his  old  ship- 
mate ashore  with  a  salute  of  honor  from  the  guns 
of  the  flagship. 

The  fleet  returned  home,  not  only  bringing  the  glad 
news  of  the  recovery  of  every  possession  the  English 
had  so  treacherously  taken  from  the  Hollanders  while 
the  two  governments  were  still  at  peace,  but  bringing 
with  it  thirty-four  captured  ships,  the  value  of  whose 
cargoes  amounted  to  millions  of  florins.  The  recep- 
tion given  to  De  Ruyter,  when  he  once  more  set  foot 
on  native  soil,  was  most  enthusiastic.  Thousands 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON   DE  RUYTER.  219 

upon  thousands  came  to  see  his  fleet,  and  many  noble 
and  honorable  women  fell  upon  his  neck  and  kissed 
him — a  performance  that  embarrassed  the  bold  sea-dog 
more  than  the  fiercest  assaults  of  any  enemy. 

While  De  Ruyter  was  absent  on  the  above  expedi- 
tion, the  war  between  England  and  the  Dutch  Repub- 
lic had  broken  out  and  was  marked  from  the  beginning 
with  more  than  usual  animosity.  In  this,  at  the  first, 
the  Hollanders  were  by  far  the  greatest  sufferers.  In 
the  first  naval  fight,  July  14,  1665,  two  of  their  ad- 
mirals were  slain  and  ten  of  their  best  ships  were  taken 
by  the  English.  Great  as  this  loss  must  have  been 
to  the  little  republic,  it  was  soon  to  be  made  good  by 
De  Ruyter.  He  now  was  elevated  to  the  lofty  post  of 
lieutenant-admiral  of  Holland  and  .West  Friesland, 
which  position  gave  him  the  chief  command  of  all  the 
fleets  of  the  republic,  the  highest  position  possible  for 
him  to  reach,  and  surpassed  only  by  that  of  those  who 
wore  a  crown  or  who  were  the  chiefs  of  states. 

On  the  first  of  June,  1666,  he  set  out  with  his  fleet  to 
enter  upon  tKe~greatest  battle  of  his  life  and  the  hottest 
contest  ever  fought  out  upon  the  hoary  sea,  one  that 
lasted  no  less  than  four  entire  days.  His  force  num- 
bered eighty-five  men-of-war,  nine  fireships,  and  four 
swift  sailing  yachts  to  carry  orders  to  the  different 
parts  of  the  fleet  when  necessary.  Some  of  his  ships 
were  the  heaviest  and  strongest  ever  sent  out  from 
Holland.  De  Ruyter's  flagship,  the  Seven  Provinces, 
and  one  other  carried  80  guns,  while  that  of  Cornells 
Tromp  was  armed  with  82  guns.  Ten  others  carried 
from  70  to  76,  and  twenty-two  were  each  pierced  for  60 
guns.  The  English  fleet,  commanded  by  Monk,  duke 


220         NAVAL  HEROES  OF  HOLLAND. 

of  Albemarle,  numbered  in  all  about  eighty-seven  men- 
of-war  and  eight  fireships.  Several  of  the  former,  how- 
ever, were  far  stronger,  both  in  guns  and  men,  than 
any  under  the  command  of  De  Ruyter.  Among  these 
was  the  Sovereign,  mounting  100  guns  and  manned 
with  an  equipment  of  700  men,  and  the  Royal  Prince, 
carrying  92  guns  and  620  men,  while  the  two  largest 
of  the  Dutch  fleet  were  manned  respectively  with  only 
475  and  450  sailors  and  marines. 

It  was  on  the  eleventh  of  June  that  the  curtain  rose 
to  the  most  terrific  spectacle  that  ever  had  been  wit- 
nessed on  any  sea.  De  Ruyter's  fleet  was  lying  at 
anchor  between  the  North  Foreland  and  the  Flemish 
coast.  The  admiral-in-chief  commanded  the  centre, 
Cornelis  Tromp  the  right  and  John  Evertsen  the  left 
wing.  About  noon  Monk  and  his  fleet  hove  in  sight. 
At  once  De  Ruyter,  according  to  his  custom,  signalled 
the  order  for  prayer.  On  every  ship  in  the  fleet  the 
men  knelt  down,  as  the  chaplains  prayed  for  strength 
and  courage  for  the  living,  victory  for  the  fatherland, 
and  pardon  and  grace  for  all  who  should  give  their 
lives  for  the  right.  Then  a  hearty  meal  was  served  to 
the  men,  and,  as  a  special  favor,  each  received  a  glass 
of  wine.  Three  ships'  bells  rang  through  the  entire 
fleet,  the  trumpets  gave  the  signal  to  charge,  and  the 
mighty  sea-monsters  rushed  to  the  bloody  fray.  The 
conflict  opened  with  characteristic  fury  on  both  sides 
and  never  slackened  except  only  when  the  night  cast 
its  thick  mantle  between  the  combatants  and  compelled 
them  to  rest.  This  was  repeated  for  three  days.  At 
the  close  of  the  third  day  the  English,  having  lost  a 
number  of  vessels  while  others  had  been  utterly  dis- 


MICHAEL   ADRIANSON   DE   RUYTER.  221 

abled,  began  to  retire.  The  advantage  so  far  was  with 
De  Ruyter,  and  if  he  had  been  free  to  follow  it  up  at 
once,  there  is  no  doubt  that  Monk  would  have  sus- 
tained a  crushing  defeat.  But  with  the  dawn  of  the 
fourth  day  another  English  fleet  appeared  of  twenty- 
five  ships  under  the  command  of  Prince  Rupert.  Most 
perilous  now  was  the  prospect  of  the  Dutch  fleet.  For, 
after  all  the  damage  sustained  in  the  preceding  three 
days,  it  was  in  no  proper  condition  to  renew  the  con- 
test with  the  enemy  so  strongly  reinforced  by  a  fleet  of 
fresh  vessels.  But  De  Ruyter's  exalted  heroism  in- 
spired his  entire  fleet :  officers  and  men,  from  the  high- 
est to  the  lowest  were  determined  to  conquer  or  die. 
Once  more  the  thousands  of  cannon  opened  their 
mouths  and  thundered  their  loud  defiance  at  each 
other;  once  more  countless  missiles  filled  the  air  and 
went  crashing  through  the  oaken  bulwarks,  tearing 
through  the  tarred  rigging  and  dealing  death  and  de- 
struction on  every  side.  The  heavens  were  lurid  with 
the  constant  lightnings  that  flamed  forth  from  the 
iron-jawed  dogs  of  war,  while  the  tumult  of  the  ele- 
ments was  lost  in  the  ceaseless  roar  of  the  guns  and 
the  cries  and  shrieks  of  the  wounded  and  dying.  The 
gods  of  sea  and  air  seemed  to  have  retreated  into  their 
caverns,  awe-struck  and  mute,  affrightened  by  the 
direful  clashing  of  these  human  Titans.  Surely  no 
famed  naval  battle  of  Greece  or  Carthage  ever  equalled 
this.  But  ere  the  sun  dipped  under  the  western  rim 
of  the  horizon  the  fortune  of  war  was  decided  in  favor 
of  De  Ruyter,  and  the  Duke  of  Albemarle  was  com- 
pelled to  make  for  his  own  ports  with  the  remnants  of 
his  fleet.  Twenty-three  of  his  ships  had  been  sunk, 


222  NAVAI.    UliUuliS    OF    HOLLAND. 

destroyed  or  captured,  six  thousand  of  his  brave  men 
had  been  slain,  and  three  thousand  were  carried  off 
captives.  The  greatest  loss  to  England,  however,  was 
that  of  three  of  her  vice-admirals,  of  whom  Berkeley 
and  Mings  had  been  killed  and  George  Ascue  was  a 
prisoner.  In  the  surrender  of  the  latter's  ship  to  that  of 
De  Ruyter,  after  a  terrific  and  obstinate  fight,  William 
Van  der  Velde,  a  noted  marine  painter  of  that  day, 
bore  a  conspicuous  part.  He  was  on  board  of  De  Ruy- 
ter's  flagship  to  witness  the  battle  and  thus  to  secure  a 
subject  for  a  painting.  He  was  sitting  in  the  cross- 
trees,  sketching  the  awful  spectacle,  when  the  order 
was  given  by  De  Ruyter  to  board.  Van  der  Velde  hur- 
ried down  the  mast,  deposited  his  drawing  materials  in 
the  nearest  cabin,  and  rushed  with  the  crew  on  board 
of  Ascue's  ship.  When  the  desperate  hand-to-hand 
fight  was  at  its  hottest,  the  artist  climbed  up  the  miz- 
zenmast  with  the  agility  of  a  common  seaman,  hauled 
down  the  admiral's  flag,  slid  down  the  shrouds,  with 
this  trophy  waving  in  his  hand,  and  passed  it  over  to 
De  Ruyter.  As  he  did  so  he  said,  "With  this  I  want  to 
pay  for  my  board  and  lodging."  In  the  melee  the 
heroic  deed  of  the  artist  seems  to  have  been  unnoticed 
by  the  English  officers  or  sailors,  so  that  they  were  not 
aware  that  their  flag  was  hauled  down  till  the  daring 
painter  had  already  readied  his  victorious  countrymen. 
On  the  part  of  the  Dutch  the  loss  consisted  of  only 
four  ships  and  two  thousand  men  all  told.  No  wonder 
that  the  hero  who  begun  the  battle  with  prayer  was 
ready  to  pour  out  his  heart  in  fervent  gratitude  to  God 
for  the  great  victory  achieved!  And  so  far  was  he 
from  taking  any  credit  to  himself  for  what  had  been 


MICHAEL   ADRIANSON    DE   RUYTER.  223 

accomplished,  that,  when  one  of  his  country's  poets 
sang  of  his  triumph  in  splendid  song,  De  Ruyter  said, 
"If  anything  great  has  been  done,  the  glory  must  be 
given  to  God  alone."  Moved  by  the  same  spirit  the 
government  proclaimed  a  universal  day  of  thanksgiv- 
ing throughout  the  land  to  give  praise  to  the  Most 
High  for  the  victory  so  signally  obtained  and  to  im- 
plore the  divine  aid  for  the  future.  Seldom  was  such  a 
proclamation  more  faithfully  and  fully  obeyed;  in 
every  city,  village  and  hamlet  all  feet  were  turned 
toward  the  sanctuaries,  in  every  house  of  worship  the 
voices  of  the  people  arose  in  grateful  homage.  The 
evening  of  that  day  was  spent  in  every  exhibition  of 
joy  at  the  memorable  achievement ;  from  every  steeple 
the  gay  bells  gave  voice  to  the  jubilant  feelings  of  the 
multitude;  bonfires  lighted  the  sky  from  every  street 
and  field ;  each  town  vied  with  the  other  in  the  splendor 
of  its  fireworks. 

As  adversity  often  brings  out  the  nobility  of  a  great 
character  much  more  fully  than  prosperity,  so  fre- 
quently the  virtues  of  a  hero  are  rendered  less  con- 
spicuous by  victory  than  by  defeat.  Of  this  De 
Ruyter  on  one  occasion  gave  a  notable  example.  On 
the  4th  of  August  of  this  same  year,  and  thus  less  than 
two  months  after  the  last  battle,  the  fleets  of  the  rival 
nations  met  again  in  the  same  neighborhood,  off  the 
North  Foreland.  In  this  it  seemed  as  if  friend  and  foe 
had  conspired  for  the  destruction  of  the  great  hero. 
The  English  bent  all  their  energies  to  crush  De  Ruyter, 
and,  as  if  to  make  his  utter  overthrow  the  more  cer- 
tain, Cornelis  Tromp,  who  commanded  the  rear  divi- 
sion of  the  Dutch  fleet,  shamefully  deserted  his  chief. 


2*4  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

The  cause  of  this  lay  not  in  any  lack  of  courage  on  the  < 
part  of  Tromp,  but  in  jealousy  and  envy,  those  twin 
imps  of  evil  that  have  wrought  so  much  woe  in  this 
world.  Tromp  had  claimed  that  De  Ruyter  had  been 
promoted  over  himself  and  others  who  had  a  prior 
claim  to  the  position  of  the  chief  command  of  the 
Dutch  navies,  and  he  now  allowed  his  jealous  spite  to 
overcome  his  sense  of  duty  and  honor,  and  left  his 
chief  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  battle  almost  alone.  The 
result  was  that  what  would  undoubtedly  have  been 
another  brilliant  victory  was  turned  into  a  costly  de- 
feat. And  yet  it  was  not  an  ignominious  one,  for  even 
in  this  De  Ruyter  crowned  himself  with  honor  and 
glory.  To  this  the  King  of  France,  Louis  XIV.,  bore 
witness  by  presenting  De  Ruyter,  on  his  return  home, 
through  Count  d'Estrades,  Louis's  envoy  extraordi- 
nary at  The  Hague,  with  the  order  of  St.  Michael,  the 
oldest  in  the  kingdom,  and  with  the  king's  own  por- 
trait on  gold  enamel  and  surrounded  with  three  rows 
of  diamonds.  With  this  a  letter  was  sent  to  d'Estrades 
from  the  king,  in  which  he  said  that  he  had  learned 
from  some  Frenchmen  who  were  present  with  De 
Ruyter  in  this  battle  that  the  admiral  had  performed 
deeds  that  seemed  to  surpass  human  powers;  that  at 
one  time  he  had  sustained  with  only  eight  of  his  own 
ships  the  attack  of  twenty-two  of  the  largest 
English  vessels  and  two  of  their  admirals,  and  that 
they  regarded  his  retreat  a  greater  proof  of  his  con- 
summate skill  than  if  he  had  gained  the  battle.  His 
country,  too,  gave  full  recognition  of  the  great  ser- 
vices he  rendered  even  in  this  battle.  Amsterdam  pre- 
sented him  with  a  magnificent  sword  with  a  hilt  of 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON   DE  RUYTER.  22$ 

gold,  and  Rotterdam  with  a  splendid  silver-gilt  ewer, 
while  his  praises  were  uttered  by  all  honest  tongues 
throughout  the  land.  His  fleet  had  been  defeated,  in- 
deed, yet  his  surpassing  courage  and  skill  had  never 
been  more  fully  exhibited  than  in  the  masterly  way  in 
which  he  drew  out  of  the  battle  and  brought  his  ships 
into  safe  harbor.  Even  Hume  acknowledges  that  the 
greatest  victory  could  not  have  given  De  Ruyter 
greater  fame  than  this  retreat. 

In  June  of  the  following  year,  1667,  De  Ruyter  had 
another  fleet  ready  with  which  to  meet  the  boastful  foe. 
So  rapid  were  the  preparations  of  those  maratime  na- 
tions in  those  days.  And  now  he  performed  a  feat 
which  never  before  nor  since,  from  the  time  that  Eng- 
land became  a  naval  power,  was  attempted.  After 
tfheir  victory  of  the  previous  year  the  English  fleet 
wantonly  burned  some  defenceless  villages  on  the  coast 
of  Holland.  For  this  outrage  De  Ruyter  determined 
to  punish  them.  But  he  aimed  not  at  harmless  towns ; 
he  meant  to  send  terror  into  the  very  heart  of  England 
by  sailing  up  the  river  on  which  her  proudest  and 
largest  city  was  situated,  and  to  make  the  power  of 
the  Republic  felt  even  there. 

On  the  1 6th  of  June  De  Ruyter  reached  the  English 
coast  with  a  fleet  of  sixty  war  vessels  and  fourteen  fire- 
ships.  His  instructions  were  to  sail  up  the  Thames  and 
Medway  with  as  many  ships  as  those  streams  would 
allow,  and  destroy  or  capture  whatever  English  vessels 
should  be  found  there,  and  to  burn  and  otherwise  ren- 
der useless  whatever  royal  storehouses  of  naval  provi- 
sions and  ammunition  might  be  found  at  Chatham.  It 
was  not  till  the  22d  that  the  arrangements  for  the  great 


226  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

exploit  were  perfected.  A  small  squadron  of  the 
lighter  vessels  with  some  fireships  were  sent  up  the 
Medway  to  attack  Fort  Sheemess.  This  was  armed 
with  fifteen  guns ;  but,  after  a  bombardment  of  an  hour 
and  a  half,  its  defenders  deserted  their  stronghold  and 
left  it  in  possession  of  their  daring  assailants.  The 
cannon  were  brought  on  board  of  De  Ruyter's  ships 
and  the  fort  dismantled.  This  done,  they  ascended  the 
river  toward  Chatham,  the  chief  naval  depot  of  Eng- 
land. Some  distance  up  the  river  stood  Upnor  Castle, 
commanding  the  stream.  Before  this  could  be  reached, 
however,  a  formidable  obstacle  had  to  be  passed.  A 
number  of  vessels  had  hastily  been  sunk  and  a  massive 
chain,  running  on  pulleys  over  floating  rafts,  had  been 
stretched  across  the  river.  Above  this  chain  lay  several 
large  men-of-war,  while  both  shores  were  planted  with 
cannon.  If  ever  a  place  had  been  made  impassable, 
surely  this  seemed  to  be  so.  But  all  these  obstacles 
only  seemed  to  strengthen  the  determination  of  the 
Hollanders.  As  the  channel  allowed  of  only  one  vessel 
at  a  time  to  ascend  the  river,  a  volunteer  was  called  for 
to  lead  the  way  and  open  a  passage.  This  was  eagerly 
answered  by  Captain  John  Van  Brakel,  who  for  some 
insubordination  was  at  this  time  under  arrest.  Though 
his  ship  was  one  of  the  lightest  equipped  in  the  fleet, 
but  a  swift  sailer,  he  begged  permission  to  take  the  ad- 
vance. His  request  was  instantly  granted ;  he  was  re- 
leased from  confinement  and  reinstated  in  command  of 
his  vessel.  He  at  once  ordered  all  sail  to  be  set,  passed 
his  compatriots  that  were  ahead  of  him,  and,  without 
firing  a  gun,  went  through  the  terrible  hail  of  shot  that 
rained  upon  him  from  the  hostile  ships  and  batteries, 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON   DE  RUYTER.  227 

and  carried  his  ship  clear  over  the  chain.  Here  he  en- 
gaged the  nearest  English  frigate,  the  Unity,  gave  it 
one  terrific  broadside,  and  boarded  and  captured  it 
almost  in  a  moment.  His  loss  in  the  entire  exploit  was 
only  two  or  three  wounded.  Commodore  John  van  den 
Ryn  followed  him  in  the  Pro  Patria,  which  dashed 
with  such  force  at  the  chain  that  it  broke  in  two  and 
thus  made  a  clear  passage  for  the  rest  of  his  squadron. 
Of  the  men-of-war  lying  on  the  other  side  of  the  chain 
three  of  the  largest  were  burned,  some  fled  up  the  river, 
while  one,  the  Royal  Charles,  carrying  100  guns,  was 
captured  and  sent  to  Holland.  Now  the  way  was  clear 
to  Upnor  Castle.  Here  matters  were  conducted  with 
the  same  impetuosity  and  rapidity.  The  guns  of  the 
castle  were  silenced  and  the  defenders  of  the  support- 
ing batteries  were  driven  from  their  guns  and  put  to 
flight.  Of  the  four  men-of-war  tfliat  were  lying  under 
the  guns  of  the  castle  only  one  escaped,  the  other  three 
being  given  to  the  flames.  The  crews  of  all  these 
seemed  to  have  been  seized  with  a  panic,  as  officers  and 
all  shamefully  deserted  their  ships.  Their  cowardice 
was  offset,  however,  by  at  least  one  of  the  officers.  The 
captain  of  the  Royal  Oak,  one  of  those  that  were  de- 
stroyed, a  Scotchman  by  the  name  of  Douglas,  refused 
to  leave  his  ship,  though  he,  too,  could  easily  have 
saved  himself.  He  preferred  to  perish  in  the  flames  of 
his  burning  ship,  saying,  "It  has  never  been  known 
that  a  Douglas  left  his  post  without  leave." 

In  the  whole  affair  the  English  lost  nine  of  their 
largest  ships  together  with  a  great  number  of  dead  and 
wounded,  and  all  under  the  very  eyes  of  Monk  and 


228  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

Prince  Rupert.     De  Ruyter's    loss    was    reckoned  at 
barely  fifty  men  and  a  few  boats. 

As  on  wings  of  the  wind  the  news  spread  to  London, 
filling  the  city  with  consternation.  The  inhabitants 
hurriedly  prepared  for  flight,  expecting  nothing  less 
than  that  the  Dutch  fleet  would  sail  up  the  river  and  lay 
their  great  and  rich  capital  in  ashes.  De  Ruyter,  how- 
ever, had  no  such  intention.  All  that  he  had  been  sent 
out  for  had  been  accomplished,  and,  this  done,  he  re- 
turned home. 

A  singular  Providence  seemed  to  favor  the  great 
enterprise  both  at  its  inception  and  at  its  close.  At  the 
start,  a  strong  tide  and  favoring  breeze  from  the  east 
carried  the  fleet  up  the  river,  while,  just  as  the  feat  was 
accomplished,  the  tide  and  wind  turned  and  carried 
the  daring  Hollanders  with  equal  rapidity  out  to  the 
remainder  of  the  fleet  at  the  river's  mouth.  This  ex- 
ploit compelled  Charles  the  Second  to  end  the  war  with 
Holland  at  that  time.  A  treaty  of  peace  between  the,) 
two  countries  was  signed  at  the  city  of  Breda  on  the 
24th  of  the  succeeding  August. 

De  Ruyter  returned  home  thus  crowned  with  the 
laurels  of  victory  and  bearing  the  olive  branch  of 
peace.  His  government  acknowledged  his  great  ser- 
vices on  this  occasion  by  presenting  him  with  a  splen- 
did beaker  of  solid  gold  on  whose  sides  were  repre- 
sented the  capture  of  Sheerness  and  the  burning  of  the 
British  ships.  All  Europe,  too,  resounded  with  the 
fame  of  the  great  admiral.  Even  England  joined  in  the 
honors  that  now  were  being  conferred  on  the  great 
hero;  for,  in  the  year  following,  she  conferred  the 
honor  of  knighthood  on  his  only  son,  Engel  de  Ruyter. 


MICHAEL   ADRIANSON   DE   RUYTER.  229 

For  nearly  five  years  the  Republic  was  permitted  to 
pursue  her  course  undisturbed,  years  in  which  her 
prosperity  at  home  and  her  influence  among  the  nations 
abroad  were  constantly  augmenting.  But  before  this 
short  period  of  respite  had  closed  a  storm  rose  over 
little  Holland  that  threatened  to  obliterate  forever  its 
place  among  nations.  England,  France,  the  Bishop  of 
Munster,  and  the  Elector  of  Cologne  combined  in  a 
declaration  of  war  against  the  Republic.  It  was  the 
most  critical  period  in  her  history  since  the  eighty 
years'  war  with  mighty  Spain.  But  it  served  to  bring 
out  De  Ruyter's  heroism,  skill  and  seamanship  as  never 
before.  Three  times  he  was  victorious  over  the  com- 
bined fleets  of  England  and  France;  and  it  is  certain 
that  but  for  him,  under  God,  the  Republic  would  have 
been  overwhelmed  and  destroyed.  Repeated  defeats 
on  land,  with  the  French  forces  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
country,  had  brought  the  nation  to  the  verge  of  ruin, 
and  had  filled  government  and  people  with  despair. 
But  the  blows  struck  by  De  Ruyter  at  the  foes  at  sea 
renewed  the  courage  and  hope  in  the  breasts  of  his 
countrymen,  and  finally  delivered  his  fatherland  from 
the  threatened  disaster. 

The  first  naval  battle,  of  this  war  was  fought  on  June 
7,  1672,  off  the  Suffolk  coast  near  Solebay,  where  the 
combined  French  and  English  fleets  had  been  lying. 
The  English  contingent  was  under  the  command  of  the 
Duke  of  York,  while  Admiral  d'Estrees  commanded  the 
fleel  of  France.  Of  the  severity  of  this  battle  some 
slight  idea  can  be  formed  from  the  fact  that  on  De 
Ruyter's  ship  alone  25,000  pounds  of  powder  were  con- 
sumed and  3,500  cannon  balls  were  fired  off.  One  of 


230         NAVAL  HEROES  OF  HOLLAND. 

the  captured  English  officers,  a  lieutenant,  being 
brought  on  board  of  De  Ruyter's  flagship,  was  ordered 
to  go  below ;  but  at  his  earnest  request  was  permitted 
to  stay  on  deck  to  witness  the  progress  of  the  battle. 
As  he  stood  there  he  exclaimed  on  one  occasion,  "What 
terrific  fighting  is  this,  sir!  It  is  not  yet  noon,  and  al- 
ready you  have  done  more  than  in  all  the  four  days' 
fight  of  '66!"  One  incident  may  serve  as  a  sample  of 
the  daring  and  intrepidity  shown  in  this  battle  by  De 
Ruyter's  captains.  John  Van  Brakel,  whose  exploit  on 
the  Thames  will  be  remembered,  was  one  of  those  who 
greatly  distinguished  themselves  on  this  day.  He  was 
now  in  command  of  a  sixty-two  gun  ship  carrying  300 
men.  He  burned  with  desire  to  measure  strength  with 
some  one  of  the  English  admirals.  Early  in  the  fight 
therefore,  'he  made  for  Montague,  the  admiral  of  the 
white  flag,  whose  ship  carried  104  guns  and  1,000  men. 
Without  firing  a  shot  van  Brakel  made  straight  for  the 
flagship.  But  Montague's  cannon  fairly  rained  shot  at 
the  oncoming  Dutchman,  so  that  the  sea  around  him 
boiled  as  if  disturbed  by  a  multitude  of  whales.  Van 
Brakel  on  his  part  did  not  fire  a  gun  till  he  had  thrown 
his  grappling  irons  over  the  sides  of  his  antagonist, 
and  then,  at  such  close  quarters,  he  poured  in  broad- 
side after  broadside.  The  ponderous  missiles  went 
crashing  through  the  timbers  of  the  stout  ship ;  fired 
point  blank,  not  a  shot  missed,  not  a  piece  of  iron  nor 
flying  splinter  but  found  some  victim.  Instantly  a  horrid 
cry  arose  from  the  dead  and  dying  on  the  English  ship. 
Had  succor  not  come  at  the  very  moment,  Montague 
would  have  been  compelled  to  surrender.  But,  being 
re-enforced,  his  own  crew  and  that  of  his  sister  ship 


MICHAEL   ADRIANSON    DE   RUYTER.  231 

rushed  in  overwhelming  numbers  on  board  of  the 
Dutchman.  For  awhile  they  were  masters  on  deck; 
but  van  Brakel  and  his  men  defended  themselves  so 
stoutly  that  Montague  was  forced  to  retreat  to  his  own 
vessel.  No  sooner  had  they  gotten  back  to  their  own 
decks  than  their  ship  was  set  ablaze  by  a  Dutch  fire- 
ship.  The  flames  spread  with  such  rapidity  that  there 
was  no  possibility  of  saving  the  noble  ship,  and,  giving 
orders  to  his  crew  to  save  themselves  if  possible,  Mon- 
tague and  a  number  of  others  entered  a  boat  to  find 
refuge  on  some  other  vessel.  But  the  boat,  being  over- 
loaded, capsized  and  the  gallant  admiral  with  all  his 
companions  but  one  were  drowned,  notwithstanding 
the  efforts  made  by  some  of  the  Dutch  ships  nearest  by 
to  save  them.  The  exception  was  the  above  mentioned 
lieutenant  who  voluntarily  witnessed  the  progress  of 
the  fight  and  the  final  victory  from  the  deck  of  De 
Ruyter's  flagship. 

On  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  just  related,  June 
7,  1673,  De  Ruyter  obtained  another  signal  victory 
over  the  combined  English  and  French  fleets.  In  this 
the  allied  fleets  lost  fourteen  vessels,  while  the  Dutch 
only  lost  four  fireships,  though  they  had  to  mourn  the 
death  of  one  of  their  ablest  vice-admirals.  The  dispar- 
ity of  numbers  in  the  respective  fleets  rendered  the 
victory  of  the  Hollanders  the  more  brilliant.  That  of 
the  allies  counted  no  less  than  150  sail,  among  which 
three  carried  100,  and  four  90  guns,  while  that  of  the 
Dutch  numbered  only  105  sail,  the  five  heaviest  of 
which  mounted  only  80  guns  each.  The  fireships  of 
the  former  also  outnumbered  those  of  the  latter  by 
seventeen. 


NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

De  Ruyter  had  kept  his  fleet  near  the  coast  of  Hol- 
land awaiting  the  attack  of  the  mighty  force,  of  whose 
coming  he  had  been  advised,  and  some  of  whose  ships 
had  already  been  seen  on  the  first  of  the  month.  It  was 
not  till  the  morning  of  the  7th,  however,  that  they  were 
discovered  coming  on  in  full  force.  Long  before  they 
got  near  enough  to  do  any  harm  they  opened  fire  on 
the  Hollanders,  who  were  awaiting  them  in  battle 
array.  This  made  De  Ruyter  say  smilingly,  "Our 
enemies  must  be  afraid ;  they  begin  to  bark  before  they 
are  near  enough  to  bite."  His  flagship  in  this,  as  in 
several  former  battles,  was  called  the  Seven  Provinces. 
As  again  and  again  he  dashed  into  the  very  heart  of 
the  hostile  fleet  and  drove  them  before  him,  he  cried 
out,  "The  foe  is  treating  the  Seven  Provinces  with 
uncommon  courtesy,  for  they  everywhere  make  way 
for  her."  In  this  battle  one  of  the  notable  traits  of  the 
great  hero  was  finely  brought  out,  namely  his  self-deny- 
ing and  forgiving  spirit.  His  division,  at  one  period  of 
the  battle,  had  cut  off  a  number  of  the  hostile  ships  and 
would  undoubtedly  have  captured  them  all,  when  he 
saw  Cornells  Tromp  in  danger  of  being  overwhelmed 
by  a  vastly  superior  force.  Instantly  De  Ruyter  aban- 
doned his  own  advantage  over  the  enemy  and  hastened 
to  Tromp's  assistance,  saying,  "It  is  better  to  succor  a 
friend  than  to  injure  an  enemy."  As  soon  as  Tromp 
saw  him  coming  he  cried,  "Boys,  Old  Daddy  is  coming 
to  help  us.  And  sure,  as  long  as  I  live  and  breathe, 
I'll  never  desert  him  again !"  No  sooner  did  the  enemy 
see  the  admiral  among  them  and  hear  the  roar  of  his 
guns,  utterly  surprised  at  his  unlooked  for  appearance, 
than  a  number  of  their  ships  set  sail  to  get  out  of  reach 


MICHAEL   ADRIANSON    DE   RUYTER.  233 

of  harm.  This  turned  the  scale  in  favor  of  the  Dutch 
and  left  the  victory  with  De  Ruyter.  The  prodigies  of 
skill  and  valor  which  he  had  performed  in  this  engage- 
ment caused  the  French  admiral  to  say,  that  he  would 
gladly  purchase  the  glory  of  such  deeds  even  with  his 
life. 

Seven  days  after  this  battle  De  Ruyter  went  after  the 
combined  fleets  again.  Although  they  still  outnumbered 
him  by  twenty-five  vessels,  they  avoided  him  and 
sought  to  get  away  to  the  coast  of  England.  De  Ruy- 
ter so  persistently  assailed  them,  however,  that  they  at 
last  turned  and  accepted  the  gage  of  battle.  It  was 
already  nearly  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The 
French  and  English  did  not  keep  up  the  fight  very 
long,  however,  but  by  dusk  turned  their  prows  again 
toward  the  coast  of  Great  Britain,  steadily  pursued  by 
De  Ruyter.  An  English  writer  bears  testimony  to  the 
great  admiral's  valor  and  skill  on  this  occasion  in  the 
following  words :  The  English  had  at  last  to  acknowl- 
edge that,  to  their  great  amazement,  they  had  here  first 
learned  from  the  Hollanders  that  the  Dutch  powder 
was  more  powerful  and  their  cannon  longer  than  that 
of  the  British.  Prince  Rupert  returned  to  the  Thames 
with  the  loss  of  many  men  and  with  a  number  of  ships 
damaged  beyond  repair ;  while  De  Ruyter,  having  sus- 
tained scarcely  any  damage,  returned  to  his  former 
position  on  the  Dutch  coast."  The  great  battle  of  this 
war,  and  the  most  fortunate  and  glorious  for  Holland, 
was  that  which  was  fought  on  the  2ist  of  August  of  this 
same  year.  The  plan  had  been  formed  in  England  to 
land  a  large  body  of  troops  on  the  Dutch  coast  for  an 
attack  on  The  Hague,  to  surprise  and  capture  that  city, 


234  NAVAL    HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

and  so  to  compel  the  Republic  to  submit  to  the  terms  of 
the  allies.  If  this  had  succeeded,  it  could  have  resulted 
in  nothing  but  the  utter  overthrow  of  the  Dutch  Re- 
public and  the  possible  incorporation  of  its  seven  pro- 
vinces with  France  or  their  partition  between  the  allied 
powers.  At  all  events,  both  in  Holland  and  England  it 
was  felt  that  on  this  enterprise  depended  the  entire  re- 
sult of  the  war.  It  had  been  learned,  too,  that  the  gov- 
ernment of  Charles  had  determined,  if  this  failed,  to 
make  peace  with  the  Republic.  Everything,  therefore, 
depended  upon  the  action  of  the  Dutch  fleet,  and  this 
upon  the  one  man  who  was  at  once  its  strongest  arm 
and  inspiring  soul.  The  allied  fleets  consisted  in  all  of 
117  armed  vessels  and  28  fireships,  six  of  the  English 
men-of-war  mounting  from  90  to  100  guns.  Against 
this  force  De  Ruyter  brought  74  regular  warships,  22 
fireships  and  18  dispatch  yachts.  The  battle  took  place 
off  the  northwestern  coast  of  Holland.  "It  seemed," 
says  one  historian,  "as  if  the  fleet  and  the  whole  nation 
felt  that  this  conflict  was  to  decide  the  life  or  death  of 
the  Republic.  The  people  throughout  the  country 
crowded  the  churches  from  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning 
till  late  in  the  evening,  that  is,  all  the  time  that  the  fight 
lasted,  praying  for  the  success  of  their  fleet.  And 
their  prayers  were  heard.  Hotly  as  the  combatants 
fought,  and  though  only  the  darkness  of  night  put  an 
end  to  the  tremendous  struggle,  not  a  single  one  of  De 
Ruyter's  ships  was  either  taken  or  disabled.  It  seemed 
as  if  some  divine  aegis  protected  him  and  his  men,  and 
rendered  them  invulnerable.  During  the  hottest  part 
of  the  battle  De  Ruyter  was  heard  to  exclaim,  "I  pray 
ypu;  see  how  marvelously  things  are  going;  the  can- 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON   DE   RUYTER.  235 

non-balls  are  falling  around  us  like  hail,  and  yet  our 
rigging  and  bulwarks  are  still  whole  and  most  of  our 
men  are  unhurt."  The  great  superiority  of  De  Ruy- 
ter's  gunners  to  those  of  the  enemy  was  again  signally 
displayed  in  this  battle,  his  ship  firing  three  shots  to 
the  English  one.  This  was  the  case  also  in  the  murder- 
ous conflict  between  Tromp  and  Sprague,  the  com- 
mander of  one  of  the  English  divisions,  the  guns  of  the 
Hollander  firing  twice  to  those  of  the  Englishman  once. 
The  fight  between  these  two  was  perhaps  the  fiercest  of 
the  entire  engagement.  Tromp  put  his  ship,  the  Gol- 
den Lion,  of  82  guns,  within  pistol  shot  from  that  of 
Sprague,  the  Royal  Prince,  carrying  100  guns,  and 
from  this  short  distance  poured  in  his  rapid  broadsides. 
For  nearly  three  hours  and  a  half  these  two  bombarded 
each  other  without  ceasing.  And  yet  during  all  this 
time  not  a  man  of  Tromp's  crew  was  either  killed  or 
wounded.  The  Royal  Prince  was  so  riddled  with  shot 
that  Sprague  was  compelled  to  pass  over  to  the  St. 
George,  but  was  soon  forced  to  leave  this  also.  But  as 
he  was  leaving  this  with  a  number  of  others,  the  boat 
in  which  they  were  was  suddenly  swamped,  and  the 
brave  Sprague  perished  in  the  waves.  The  battle  lasted 
till  after  sundown,  when  the  allied  fleets  turned  north- 
ward, leaving  De  Ruyter  master  of  the  field,  and  thus 
the  acknowledged  victor.  Notwithstanding  the  fearful 
nature  of  the  struggle,  only  two  of  his  vessels  were 
compelled  to  run  into  port  for  repairs,  while  the  allied 
fleet  had  lost  nineteen  vessels,  among  them  the  St. 
George,  one  of  the  largest  of  the  British  ships,  and 
twelve  others,  with  every  mast  gone,  had  to  be  dragged 
home.  But  what  was  of  far  greater  value  to  the  victori- 


236  NAVAL   HEROES   OF    HOLLAND. 

ous  Hollanders  than  the  destruction  or  capture  of  the 
enemy's  ships,  the  result  of  the  battle  forced  Charles  II. 
to  break  off  the  alliance  with  France  and  to  make  peace 
with  the  Republic.  For  this  great  achievement  the 
unanimous  voice  of  the  nation  bestowed  upon  De  Ruy- 
ter  the  proud  title  of  Preserver  of  the  Fatherland,  a  far 
more  satisfactory  reward  than  the  generous  gifts  be- 
stowed by  the  government  upon  him  and  his  sub- 
ordinates. 

The  extraordinary  courage,  coolness  and  self-control 
exhibited  by  a  young  cabin  boy  during  one  of  these 
terrible  battles  is  worth  telling.  His  captain  had  or- 
dered him  to  get  him  a  drink  while  the  fight  was  at 
its  hottest.  As  the  lad  returned  a  musket  ball  shattered 
the  glass  in  his  hand.  With  utter  unconcern  the  little 
fellow  went  back  to  the  cabin  and  brought  another 
glass,  and  as  he  handed  it  to  the  captain  he  stated  the 
reason  of  his  delay  in  bringing  it.  The  captain  asked, 
"Why,  boy,  were  you  not  frightened?"  Never  sup- 
posing that  his  commander  could  refer  to  a  fear  of 
being  wounded  or  killed,  the  boy  thought  that  he  only 
referred  to  some  punishment  for  the  loss  of  the  glass, 
and  quietly  answered,  "Why,  no,  sir;  there  were  more 
glasses  to  be  had." 

For  three  more  years  De  Ruyter  served  his  father- 
land with  undiminished  honor  and  zeal;  though  but 
two  more  occasions  were  granted  him  in  which  to 
prove  his  superiority  as  a  naval  commander  over  all 
others  of  his  day.  Only  the  last,  that  which  terminated 
his  glorious  life,  will  be  briefly  related.  In  1676  the 
Spaniards,  who  but  fifty  years  before  had  exerted  all 
their  vast  power  for  the  destruction  of  the  Dutch  Re- 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON   DE  RUYTER.  237 

public,  now  were  glad  to  invoke  the  aid  of  the  Seven 
United  Provinces  against  the  French,  who  were  seeking 
to  wrest  Sicily  from  Spain.  They  implored  the  govern- 
ment at  The  Hague  to  send  a  fleet  to  the  Mediterranean 
to  act  in  conjunction  with  their  own,  and  particularly 
requested  that  De  Ruyter  might  be  put  in  command  of 
that  fleet.  He  was  sent  out,  therefore,  but  with  a  squad- 
ron of  only  seventeen  vessels.  When  he  complained  of 
the  smallness  of  his  fleet  as  being  wholly  inadequate  for 
the  task  it  would  have  to  perform,  a  member  of  the  Ad- 
miralty Board  dared  to  ask,  "Surely,  sir,  you  are  not 
losing  courage  in  your  old  age  ?"  To  which  the  great- 
hearted hero  made  this  memorable  answer,  "No,  I  am 
not  losing  courage.  My  life  is  at  the  command  of  my 
country.  But  it  grieves  me  that  the  government  is  so 
ready  to  risk  the  honor  of  our  flag.  Yet  were  I 
commanded  to  carry  my  country's  flag  on  a  single  ship, 
I  would  go  to  sea  with  that  alone ;  for  where  the  gov- 
ernment will  trust  the  flag,  I  will  risk  my  life."  When 
he  was  about  to  set  sail  with  his  fleet,  as  he  was  taking 
leave  from  an  intimate  friend,  he  said  that  he  felt  he 
would  not  return  alive;  a  foreboding  that  seemed  to 
remain  with  him  to  the  last  day. 

When  he  arrived  at  the  point  where  the  Spanish  fleet 
was  to  join  him,  not  a  single  one  of  their  vessels  was 
found  in  condition  for  sea.  Though  he  urged  again 
and  again  the  absolute  necessity  of  expedition,  lest  the 
French  fleet  should  gain  time  to  gather  re-enforce- 
ments, and  thus  make  its  defeat  the  more  difficult,  if 
not  wholly  impossible,  he  was  constantly  put  off  with 
the  most  frivolous  excuses.  The  fatal  Spanish  indo- 
lence and  procrastination  thwarted  De  Ruyter  at  every 


238  NAVAL  HEROES  OF  HOLLAND. 

step.  Then,  as  always,  "to-morrow"  had  the  prefer- 
ence with  the  Spaniards  over  "to-day."  The  words  of 
the  procrastinating  sinner  in  one  of  Lopez  de  Vega's 
poems  could  have  been  most  fittingly  put  into  the 
mouths  of  the  Spanish  government: 

"To-morrow  we  will  answer,"  we  replied. 
And  when  the  morrow  came  we  answered  still : 
"To-morrow." 

De  Ruyter's  fleet  arrived  at  Cadiz  on  the  26th  of  Sep- 
tember. Here  he  was  to  be  joined  by  the  "Armada  of 
the  Oceans."  Such  was  the  bombastic  name  which  the 
Spaniards  had  given  to  the  fleet  which  was  intended  to 
co-operate  with  the  Dutch.  But  not  a  single  Spanish 
warship  was  to  be  found  here.  From  here  he  was 
directed  to  proceed  to  the  bay  of  Vinaroz,  where  the 
Spanish  fleet  would  join  him ;  but  there,  too,  he  failed 
to  find  them.  Thence  to  Barcelona,  with  the  same 
result.  This  ended  the  patience  of  De  Ruyter,  who  now 
made  up  his  mind  to  go  to  Messina  with  or  without  the 
Spanish  fleet,  and  await  the  coming  of  the  French. 
When  in  the  neighborhood  of  Sicily  he  learned  at  last 
that  the  "Armada  of  the  Oceans"  was  snugly  stored 
away  in  the  bay  of  Palermo,  but  wholly  unfit  for  duty. 
At  length  a  single  Spanish  man-of-war  and  fourteen 
galleys  joined  him.  The  French  fleet,  under  Du 
Quesne,  was  soon  after  this  sighted  coming  down  in 
battle  array  toward  Sicily.  It  consisted  of  nearly  forty 
ships,  seven  of  which  carried  from  80  to  96  guns.  De 
Ruvter  had  eighteen  men-of-war  and  four  fireships,  his 
flagship  being  the  most  formidable,  yet  mounting  only 
76  guns.  With  this  force  and  the  one  Spanish  ship  he 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON   DE  RUYTER.  239 

met  the  French  under  Du  Quesne  on  the  morning  of  the 
8th  of  January,  1676,  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Stromboli.  The  fourteen  Spanish  galleys  had  been 
compelled  by  the  severity  of  the  wind  to  stop  at  the 
island  of  Lipari,  so  that  they  were  not  of  any  use.  The 
battle  began  at  about  nine  o'clock  of  the  forenoon  and 
lasted  till  sundown,  when  Du  Quesne  drew  off  and  left 
the  field  to  De  Ruyter.  The  loss  on  the  side  of  the 
French  consisted  in  the  sinking  of  one  of  their  best 
vessels,  and  from  1,000  to  1,500  in  killed  and  wounded. 
That  of  the  Dutch  was  far  below  this,  while  not  a  single 
vessel  was  missing  in  the  fleet  at  the  close  of  the  contest. 
Had  the  Spanish  fleet  been  ready  and  in  proper  condi- 
tion, the  advantage  gained  might  have  been  followed 
by  the  complete  defeat  of  the  French.  But  Du  Quesne 
was  too  strong  to  be  pursued,  and  had  to  be  allowed  to 
sail  around  the  southern  point  of  Sicily,  where  his  fleet 
was  joined  by  a  number  of  men-of-war  lying  in  the 
harbor  of  Messina.  It  was  this  enlarged  force  with 
which  De  Ruyter  fought  his  last  battle. 

At  last  a  Spanish  squadron,  but  of  only  ten  vessels, 
joined  the  fleet,  instead  of  the  twenty-four  which  had 
been  promised.  And  of  these  ten,  only  five  were  capa- 
ble of  effective  service.  One  of  De  Ruyter's  ships  had 
to  be  left  at  Palermo,  having  been  found  unfit  for  duty ; 
so  that  the  total  effective  force  of  the  vessels  under  his 
direction  was  only  twenty-six  ships,  armed  in  all  with 
about  1,150  guns  and  carrying  5,700  men.  Du  Quesne's 
force  was  nearly  double  this,  his  entire  armament 
counting  2,172  guns  and  his  crews  10,665  men 
on  thirty-three  men-of-war,  nine  galleys  and 
eight  fireships.  At  four  o'clock  of  the  after- 
noon of  April  22,  the  allied  fleet  began  the 


240  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

attack,  led  by  De  Ruyter's  own  division.  They 
were  now  off  the  east  coast  of  Sicily,  between 
Messina  and  Catania,  in  sight  of  Mount  Etna,  which 
seemed  to  restrain  its  own  flames  as  the  more  destruc- 
tive fires  of  human  warfare  were  creating  devastation 
among  living  men.  The  old  hero,  who  a  month  before 
had  celebrated  his  sixty-ninth  birthday,  dashed  with  all 
his  old  time  impetuosity  into  the  foe,  who,  bravely  led 
and  valiantly  fighting,  maintained  his  ground  but  only 
to  be  driven  back.  The  battle  had  only  lasted  half  an 
hour,  and  already  several  of  Du  Quesne's  captains  were 
making  all  sail  to  get  away,  when  a  cannon  ball  took  off 
part  of  the  left  foot  of  De  Ruyter,  as  he  was  giving  his 
orders  from  the  quarter-deck,  and  hurled  him  down  to 
the  main-deck.  His  flag  captain  and  a  few  others 
rushed  to  his  assistance  and  had  him  conveyed 
to  his  cabin.  After  his  wounds  were  dressed, 
De  Ruyter  had  a  chair  brought  on  deck  from 
which  he  continued  to  give  directions  and  to 
inspire  his  men  with  confidence  and  courage  for 
the  fray.  But  never  had  even  his  words  been 
so  eloquent  as  his  blood  was  now.  If  at  all  other  times 
they  had  fought  with  unflinching  heroism,  his  men 
seemed  now  to  be  filled  with  an  eager  passion  to  avenge 
the  injury  done  to  their  adored  commander,  firing  the 
great  guns  as  rapidly  as  if  they  were  handling  muskets. 
After  three  hours,  in  which  on  both  sides  most  signal 
deeds  of  heroism  were  performed,  Du  Quesne  was  com- 
pelled to  retreat.  De  Ruyter  followed  him  till  eight 
o'clock,  his  vessels  aiming  their  guns  at  the  flying  foe 
by  the  soft  light  of  the  southern  moon.  It  seemed  now 
as  if,  instead  of  this  being  the  last  of  his  achievements 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON   DE  RUYTER.  241 

for  land  and  liberty,  he  was  to  return  with  these  laurels 
to  go  forth  again  to  new  and,  if  possible,  still  grander 
exploits.  But  his  premonitions  proved  but  too  true. 
His  wound  had  been  rapidly  healing  when,  on  the  third 
day  after  his  victory,  a  fever  set  in  which  baffled  all  the 
skill  of  his  physicians,  and  a  couple  of  days  thereafter 
terminated  his  great  and  noble  life.  On  the  2gth  of 
April,  1676,  between  the  hours  of  eight  and  nine  in  the 
evening,  Holland  lost  the  greatest  naval  hero  she  ever 
had  before  or  since. 

The  body  was  embalmed  to  be  carried  home  for 
burial.  The  heart  and  other  parts,  which  had  to  be 
taken  out  in  order  to  the  preservation  of  the  body,  his 
officers  desired  to  deposit  in  the  cemetery  at  Syracuse. 
But  when  they  asked  permission  for  this  of  the  authori- 
ties, they  were  met  by  a  peremptory  refusal,  on  the 
ground  that  no  part  of  a  heretic's  body  could  be  interred 
in  consecrated  ground.  On  the  first  of  May,  therefore, 
his  captains  carried  these  remains  of  their  beloved  chief 
to  a  low  mound  on  the  coast  of  Sicily  and  there  laid 
them  to  rest,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  the  element 
which  for  fifty-eight  years  had  been  witness  to  his  sur- 
passing skill  and  courage. 

Before  carrying  its  precious  charge  back  to  the 
fatherland  he  had  served  so  well,  the  fleet  was  com- 
pelled to  put  into  the  bay  of  Palermo  for  repairs.  Here 
they  were  fiercely  attacked  by  the  French,  who  now 
seemed  determined  upon  the  utter  destruction  of  the 
allied  fleet.  In  this  they  were  doubtless  emboldened  by 
the  knowledge  of  the  great  captain's  death.  But,  though 
no  longer  inspired  by  the  words  and  deeds  of  the  great 
hero,  his  sailors  fought  with  all  their  old  time  courage 


242         NAVAL  HEROES  OF  HOLLAND. 

and  resolution,  determined  sooner  to  peris'h  with  their 
precious  charge  than  to  allow  it  to  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy.  After  a  desperate  struggle,  in  which 
the  Hollanders  lost  their  remaining  commanding 
officers,  the  French  were  beaten  off  and  the  fleet  went 
on  its  way  homeward. 

Never  had  Holland  witnessed  such  a  day  of  mourn- 
ing, not  even  when  the  great  William  fell  by  the  assas- 
sin's pistol,  as  when  the  body  of  the  almost  adored  De 
Ruyter  was  carried  to  its  last  home.  The  whole  land 
was  plunged  into  bitterest  grief  by  the  death  of  its  great 
Preserver  and  testified  its  affection  by  the  splendid 
obsequies  with  which  all  there  was  left  of  him  was  car- 
ried to  its  tomb.  His  body  rests  in  the  New  Church, 
so  called,  at  Amsterdam,  where  at  the  nation's  expense 
a  splendid  monument  was  erected  to  his  memory. 

Rest,  rest  in  peace,  Old  Ocean's  matchless  son! 
Thy  grateful  fatherland  the  glory  thou  hast  won 
Can  ne'er  forget :  in  every  heart  thy  name 
Shall  dwell,  a  deathless  tribute  to  thy  fame. 

A  notable  and  noble  tribute  to  the  enduring  fame  of 
the  great  hero  was  given  when  the  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many, on  the  occasion  of  his  visit  to  Amsterdam  in 
1891,  went  personally  to  the  New  Church  and  laid  a 
wreath  on  his  tomb ;  and  then  kneeled  down  and  spent 
some  moments  as  if  in  silent  prayer.  In  1841  a  bronze 
statue  was  erected  to  his  honor  in  his  native  city  Flush- 
ing, and  was  placed  on  an  open  space  quite  near  the 
spot  from  which  he  made  his  first  attempt  to  become  a 
sailor.  It  was  unveiled  and  solemnly  dedicated  in  the 
presence  of  King  William  the  Second  and  his  suite. 


STATUE   OF    L>E    KUVTER    ON    THE    SEA-BOULEVAKU    AT    FLUSHING. 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON   DE  RUYTER.  243 

This  was  more  recently  removed  and  placed  on  the 
boulevard  laid  out  on  the  old  sea-wall,  where  it  was 
rededicated  in  presence  of  the  queen-mother  and 
Princess  Wilhelmina,  now  the  beloved  queen  of  the 
Netherlands.  The  statue  now  faces  and  looks  down 
from  its  lofty  position  upon  the  turbulent  waters  of  the 
North  Sea  that  he  had  so  often  braved  and  that  so  fre- 
quently had  been  witness  to  his  triumphs. 

Shortly  after  his  death  letters  came  from  the  Court 
of  Spain  addressed  to  De  Duyter  which  informed  him 
that  the  Spanish  King  had  bestowed  a  dukedom  upon 
him  with  an  annual  revenue  of  two  thousand  ducats. 
As  death  had  made  such  honors  forever  useless  to  the 
great  man,  the  title,  its  privileges  and  emoluments  were 
conferred  upon  his  son,  Captain  Engel  De  Ruyter, 
who,  however,  modestly  requested  that  it  might  be 
changed  to  a  barony. 

Thus  the  wild  and  good-for-nothing  boy  of  the 
Flushing  rope-walk  had  risen  to  the  highest  place  and 
fame  in  the  most  dangerous,  the  most  laborious,  and 
yet  one  of  the  most  honorable  professions  that  men 
can  follow ;  had  raised  his  family  from  the  most  obscure 
to  the  most  exalted  social  position;  had  rescued  his 
country  from  impending  ruin  and  brought  to  her  undy- 
ing renown. 

The  surpassing  excellence  of  the  great  man  deserves 
a  brief  summing  up  of  his  character.  Unpromising  as 
was  his  boyhood,  there  was  scarcely  a  virtue  but 
adorned  his  manhood.  Truth,  honor,  diligence,  zeal, 
fidelity,  courage,  daring,  endurance,  generosity,  humil- 
ity, temperance,  purity,  patriotism,  godliness — such  was 
the  galaxy  of  graces  that  ennobled  him  like  jewelled 
stars  in  a  diadem.  And  for  this  let  us,  as  he  himself 


244  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

ever  did,  magnify  the  grace  of  God  which  alone  had 
made  all  this  possible. 

That  the  bold  and  daring  lad  should  have  become  a 
mighty  man  of  war  is  not  so  surprising;  but  that  the 
uncontrollable  scapegrace  should  have  risen  to  such 
eminence  as  that  of  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  fleets 
of  Holland;  that  the  ignoramus  should  have  become 
master  of  eight  languages;  and,  still  more,  that  the 
good-for-naught,  as  all  had  deemed  him,  should  have 
become  a  Christian  of  exalted  piety, — this  is  cause  for 
wonder  indeed. 

Of  his  high  Christian  character  his  entire  public  and 
private  life  offers  most  abundant  proof  in  his  pure  and 
devout  demeanor,  his  kindliness,  his  readiness  to  for* 
give  injuries,  his  gentleness  to  the  humblest  of  his  sub- 
ordinates and  his  generous  efforts  for  the  unfortunate. 
On  board  his  fleet  prayer  was  a  daily  duty;  he  never 
entered  upon  a  battle  without  supplicating  the  divine 
blessing  and  guidance;  he  never  gained  one  without 
fervent  thanksgiving ;  and  all  his  successes,  brilliant  as 
they  were,  he  acknowledged  as  coming  from  God  alone. 
At  home  he  spent  most  of  his  time  in  reading  and  medi- 
tating upon  the  Holy  Scriptures.  A  striking  instance  is 
related  of  his  humble  piety  and  which  happened  at  the 
time  when  he  had  just  been  raised  to  the  position  of 
Lieutenant  Admiral  of  Holland  and  West  Friesland. 
He  was  stopping  at  a  hotel  in  Rotterdam,  where  one 
morning,  when  he  supposed  himself  to  be  out  of  the 
reach  of  observation,  he  was  overheard  to  utter  this 
prayer:  "Strengthen  me,  O  Lord,  in  the  service  of  my 
exalted  position.  Grant  me  a  heroic  soul,  and  spare  me 
for  the  service  and  welfare  of  my  fatherland." 


MICHAEL  ADRIANSON    DE   RUYTER.  245 

He  was  a  most  self-denying  husband  and  father, 
though  at  home,  as  on  board  his  ship,  requiring  strict 
obedience  to  needed  and  proper  rule  and  authority.  His 
sailors  he  addressed  usually  as  "My  children,"  or  "My 
boys,"  and  even  when  most  displeased  they  rarely  heard 
a  severer  expression  from  his  lips  than  "Fellows!" 

Many  were  the  Christians  groaning  on  board  of 
Algerine  galleys  whom  he  forced  the  Bey  to  release; 
and  while  on  his  last  voyage,  when  assisting  Spain 
against  France,  he  compelled  the  viceroy  of  Naples  to 
liberate  twenty-three  Hungarian  preachers  who  on  ac- 
count of  their  faith  were  imprisoned  there. 

He  was  one  of  the  many  who  made  his  nation  as 
famous  for  honesty  and  integrity  as  it  was  renowned 
for  manhoood,  courage  and  enterprise.  His  patriotism 
was  evinced  not  only  in  his  ready  surrender  of  personal 
comfort  at  the  nation's  call  and  the  many  perils  he  will- 
ingly and  uncomplainingly  endured  for  her,  but  in  his 
fine  sensitiveness  to  his  country's  reputation  and  his 
stern  resentment  of  any  indignity  offered  to  it  or  its 
government.  This  latter  was  shown  once  on  board  a 
canal  boat,  when  a  fellow  passenger  was  guilty  of  the 
most  treasonable  expressions.  As  the  fellow  would  not 
heed  De  Ruyter's  remonstrances  and  rebukes,  the  great 
sailor  took  him  by  neck  and  heels  and  flung  him  head- 
long into  the  canal.  And  yet,  while  ever  ready  either 
as  private  citizen  or  as  commander  of  a  fleet  to  do  bat- 
tle for  his  country  or  to  defend  her  honor,  he  did  not 
dare  to  disobey  God's  word  by  hazarding  either  his 
own  life  or  that  of  another  in  private  combat,  and 
therefore  once  refused  to  fight  a  duel  upon  the  chal- 
lenge of  a  fellow-officer. 


246  NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 

Of  his  ready  wit  some  instances  have  been  given. 
The  following  anecdote  proves  him  possessed  of  no 
small  amount  of  humor:  A  number  of  nobles  and 
other  gentlemen  at  The  Hague  once  invited  De  Ruyter 
to  a  pleasure  excursion.  Supposing  that  the  trip  was 
to  be  made  in  carriages,  he  readily  accepted.  But  when 
they  were  ready  to  start  he  found  that  they  were  going 
on  horseback.  Though  his  name  signified  the  Cavalier, 
he  was  anything  but  a  horseman.  However,  he  put  as 
good  a  face  as  possible  on  the  matter  and  mounted  his 
charger,  which,  by  the  way,  happened  to  be  a  very  rest- 
ive animal.  As  soon  as  his  companions  saw  the  expres- 
sion of  concern  and  anxiety  on  the  admiral's  face,  as  he 
struggled  hard  to  keep  his  seat,  they  concluded  to  have 
some  fun  at  his  expense,  and  started  on  a  gallop.  He 
had  to  keep  up  with  the  company,  of  course,  and  man- 
aged to  keep  his  seat.  But  he  cut  a  most  ridiculous 
figure,  tossing  up  and  down  on  his  horse  like  a  rubber 
ball,  one  arm  flapping  at  his  side  like  the  wing  of  a  fly- 
ing sea-gull,  at  the  same  time  trying  to  steer  his  horse 
with  the  reins  of  that  insecure  hand,  while  the  other  was 
making  desperate  efforts  to  hold  on  to  his  hat.  No 
wonder  the  laugh  was  against  him  and  that  he  had  to 
endure  many  a  cutting  joke  at  the  dinner  table.  How- 
ever, he  took  it  all  in  good  part  and  quietly  laid  his 
plans  to  get  even  with  his  tormentors.  So,  before  they 
separated,  he  made  all  promise  to  dine  with  him  on 
board  of  his  flagship.  On  the  day  of  their  visit  he 
ordered  all  the  guns  to  be  loaded  and  all  at  once  to  be 
fired  off  at  a  given  signal.  Punctual  to  the  moment  the 
distinguished  company  arrived,  all  landlubbers,  as  the 
sailors  called  them,  and  as  unused  to  keeping  their  legs 


MICHAEL   ADRIANSON    DE   RUYTER.  247 

on  board  of  a  man-of-war  as  De  Ruyter  was  to  main- 
tain his  seat  on  horseback.  At  the  close  of  the  splendid 
repast,  as  they  were  all  seated  in  the  cabin,  the  admiral 
rose  and  lifted  his  glass.  All  followed  his  example  and 
stood,  glass  in  hand,  ranged  on  each  side  of  the  table. 
When  all  were  ready  De  Ruyter  gave  the  toast,  "Our 
Common  Country,"  which  was  the  signal  agreed  upon 
with  his  men.  No  sooner  were  the  words  uttered  than 
the  mighty  guns  went  off,  making  the  ship  tremble  in 
every  timber,  and  throwing  the  noble  company  pell-mell 
over  each  other  on  the  floor.  For  awhile  they  were 
half  dead  with  fright,  and  when  at  last  they  regained 
their  feet,  De  Ruyter  smilingly  said,  "This,  gentlemen, 
is  the  kind  of  a  horse  that  I  ride." 

We  close  this  sketch  of  the  great  seaman  with  the 
testimony  of  three  witnesses  from  among  the  people 
against  whom  he  fought  most  frequently  and  over 
whose  fleets  he  gained  such  brilliant  victories.  His 
English  biographer  says,  "He  was  the  most  upright 
man,  the  most  devout  and  pious  Christian,  the  bravest, 
wisest,  and  most  experienced  leader,  so  good  and  pa- 
triotic a  citizen  of  his  country  that  he  is  justly  regarded 
by  all  posterity  as  the  ornament  of  his  age,  a  great  naval 
hero,  and  a  most  redoubtable  warrior."  Another  Eng- 
lish writer,  quoting  the  words  of  Richter  that,  though 
many  historians  assert  De  Ruyter  to  be  the  greatest 
naval  hero  that  ever  lived,  yet  Du  Quesne  vanquished 
him,  says,  "To  institute  a  comparison  between  the  two 
is  to  compare  a  snuffy  candle  with  a  brilliant  lamp." 
And  when  on  August  27,  1816,  the  English  and  Dutch 
fleets  under  Lord  Exmouth  and  Baron  Van  de  Capelle 
had  given  the  Dey  of  Algiers  a  severe  drubbing,  Lord 


243 


NAVAL   HEROES  OF   HOLLAND. 


Exmouth  gave  a  feast  on  board  of  his  flagship  to  the 
officers  of  the  allied  fleet.  Exmouth  drank  first  to  the 
peace  and  prosperity  of  the  two  nations;  then,  lifting 
his  goblet  again,  he  drank  to  the  memory  of  De  Ruy- 
ter,  and  after  that  to  the  memory  of  Nelson,  adding, 
"I  drink  first  to  the  memory  of  De  Ruyter  because  he  is 
so  much  older  and  greater  than  Nelson !" 

The  lines  placed  under  a  likeness  of  the  great  admiral 
exhibited  in  every  shop  window  in  Holland  after  his 
last  victory  over  the  combined  English  and  French 
fleets,  may  fittingly  complete  our  tribute  to  the  man : 

"Behold  the  hero !  Holland's  strong  right  hand, 
The  savior  of  the  imperilled  fatherland, 
Who  three  times  forced  two  kingdoms  in  one  year 
To  strike  the  flag,  and  filled  their  lands  with  fear. 
The  fleet's  true  soul,  the  arm  by  which  God  wrought 
The  victory  that  peace  and  honor  brought." 


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